A blue and white porcelain treasure ship from the Mikawachi kilns of Hirado, made in the late Meiji period between about 1890 and 1910, with a dragon’s head for a prow. The kilns worked under the Matsura clan, lords of Hirado, from the seventeenth century. For a long time their fine white porcelain and soft underglaze blue were reserved for the clan and its gifts, before the wider world caught up with them.
The form is the Takarabune, the ship that sails in at New Year carrying the Seven Lucky Gods and their treasures. People used to tuck a picture of it under the pillow at New Year in the hope of a lucky first dream, which is a lot to ask of a piece of paper. Porcelain seems a sturdier bet.
The dragon at the bow has a scaly head, a hollow open mouth and a separately moulded white tongue, with a bat and a Buddhist endless knot painted on the platform below. The deep oval basin holds the takaramono, or lucky treasures, among them a magic mallet, a scroll and a treasure bag. The stern has a phoenix among clouds above a spiral frieze, and the hull runs with foaming waves and birds in flight. The base is unmarked, with a wide unglazed ring around a glazed centre.
Condition notes
Excellent antique condition overall. The upper part of the dragon’s head has been professionally restored in the past. The separately moulded tongue inside the mouth is intact.
