A Japanese blue and white Arita porcelain ‘VOC’ dish

Arita, Edo period, late 17th century

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Diam. 32 cm
(baking fault in the centre)

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These dishes in the Chinese Wanli style with the VOC monogram of the Dutch East India Company in the centre were made in Japan between c. 1658 and 1685 when ceramic production in China came to a standstill due to the civil war between the Ming and the Qing.
These expensive dishes were primarily for use by VOC officials in the many different trade posts of the Company in Asia and at the Cape of Good Hope, and possibly also used as diplomatic gifts. To dine off such expensive custom-made porcelain was exuberant, and it shows the sheer wealth made in Asia.