Vintage Imari Sometsuke Porcelain Plates Blue White Gold, 6.5” Wide (Set of 2)

Imari is a style of high quality Arita ware, named after the port in Japan from where it would be shipped to Nagasaki where the Dutch East India Company and the Chinese had trading posts in the 17th century. Sometsuke refers to the underglaze using a deep blue pigment called gosu on white ground then coated in a transparent glaze, known as underglaze blue.
 
One of ours features an image of a bamboo and pine tree, the other the same as well as a plum tree with touches of red in the image.
 
We do not believe these are antique due to the glazed base. They are in excellent condition, never used. The blue and gold are bright and the slightly scalloped gold rims show no signs of damage. On the base, there are some natural imperfections from the glazing process and some sticker residue over the maker’s marks. Both had little numbered stickers (one fell off after photography). 
 
We are not sure if these were packing numbers from a move in 1936 to San Francisco or perhaps auction lot numbers. We do know they came out of a box addressed to our grandmother in Los Angeles which would predate 1936.
 
H 7/8” x diameter 6 1/2”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.