Plates
Green dragon oval dish, Awaji style
A dragon pressed into clay, then drowned in green.
The dish is a soft oval with a wide rim, and in the centre a dragon coils around itself among clouds, every scale picked out by the mould. The whole thing wears a single coat of bright green glaze that pools dark in the carved lines and thins to apple-green on the high points, which is what makes the dragon readable. Tilt it in the light and the surface has a faint rainbow sheen, a trait of these Meiji green glazes.
No painting, no second colour, nothing else. One shape, one glaze, and a creature that's been guarding Japanese and Chinese art for two thousand years.
Dishes like this came out of the Awaji island kilns in the Meiji years, when Japan's brightest monochromes were being shipped west by the crate. Most were lost or chipped. This one kept its edges.
We found it in a shop on our way from Awaji.
Awaji is a small island between Honshu and Shikoku, better known today for onions and the world's longest suspension bridge. For about sixty years it also produced some of the most colour-saturated pottery Japan ever made. Awaji green is unmistakable once you've seen it, and Western collectors in the 1890s bought it as "Japanese majolica."
The dragon here is the East Asian kind, a water spirit, not a fire breather. It brings rain, guards treasure and stands for strength and good luck. A dragon curled in the bottom of a dish means the luck is aimed at whoever the dish is set in front of.
Measurements & materials
- Clay & glaze
- Fine buff clay, monochrome copper-green lead-type glaze with iridescent sheen, pooling dark in recesses
- Kiln
- Likely Awaji, possibly Sanuki or Kyoto. Unmarked as far as photographed
- Era
- Meiji, c. 1880 to 1912
- Dimensions
- 13 x 11 cm oval
2.5 cm tall - Weight
- 77 g (2.7 oz)
- Condition
- Very good. No chips or cracks, minor glaze misses from the kiln, light wear Provenance: Antique shop find, central Japan
Ready to ship. This is the piece in the photographs, the only one of it we found, packed and sent from Japan.
- Found in Japan, and the only one of it we have
- Condition described honestly, flaws photographed
- Shipped insured and tracked, worldwide
- Payment handled by our provider - we never see your card
Return it within 7 days of delivery, unused and in its original packaging. Return postage is paid by you. Full policy.
Payments are handled by Stripe. Your card details go into Stripe's own secure form and straight to them: they never reach our servers, and we do not store them.
Ships from Japan. Cost is calculated at checkout from your address; import duties and taxes in your country are not included. Shipping & returns in full.
Looking after it
Recommendations
- Not dishwasher safe Heat, pressure and detergent together are what break old glazes.
- Hand wash in warm water
- No detergent, and do not leave to soak Porous bodies drink in whatever they are soaked in.
- No abrasive sponge or scourer
- Dry immediately, then air fully before storing Trapped damp is what turns into mould in a tomobako.
- Not microwave safe
- Not oven safe
- Not for direct flame or a stovetop
- Not freezer safe
- Avoid sudden changes of temperature Warm the piece with tepid water first rather than pouring boiling water into it cold.
- We cannot certify the glaze as food safe It is an old piece and we have no record of what is in the glaze. Use it for dry or brief service if you use it at all.
These are our recommendations after handling the piece, not a manufacturer's instruction. It is old, and it came with no paperwork.
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