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I recently added this charger to my collection. It is my first piece of Imari and I'm not real versed in this type of porcelain. I would really appreciate any opinions of what the age is. I was thinking Meiji Period but I cant find whole lot of Imari chargers with Samurai to compare with. It is 17 inches in diameter. It has a very light blue tint on the back of the plate and spurmarks. I have seen alot of discussion with spurmarks on helping with aging Imari but as I said I'm not that versed in it. All comments welcome.

Thanks,
Bryson J.

A very nice and somewhat unusual piece with the use of black in the decoration. Based on the decoration and the 5 spur marks on the back I would date this piece to late Edo Period, maybe 1840 to 1870.

I'm not an expert but I presume that it must date from the early Meiji period.
The subject is the beginning of Act XI (final act) of the Chushingura (The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers), where the retainers, all dressed as firemen, attack Morono's mansion.

Could be from a set of 11 to 12 dishes in total.

Guy.

Awesome, I appreciate the input. Do either of you believe it is a rare piece.

Bryson J.

Bryson, I don't know if I would call it rare, but it is certainly not a normally seen design. I dealt in Asian antiques for over 30 years, mostly Japanese, and I do not remember seeing this pattern or a similar pattern before. It should command a higher price than the typical Imari chargers of this size seen on the market.

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