A Rare Japanese ‘V.O.C’ Dutch East India Company Charger

This dish has a white background decorated ornately in underglaze blue, with a paneled border around the rim. This is typical of the type of export ware known as kraak, which originated in China and was imitated by potters in Japan at the request of the Dutch.

This porcelain dish is decorated with the Dutch East India Co. monogram V.O.C (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie). Only the Dutch were allowed to trade with Japan for the majority of the Edo Period (1615– 1868). They were restricted to a small island in the South-West called Deshima, which is off the coast of Nagasaki. It is here they were able purchase the highly prized Japanese porcelain.

• A closely related dish is in the Metropolitan Museum, NY. Accession Number:2002.447.40.

Provenance:
• Private Dutch Collection.