Dish on footring, spreading sides with modelled kidney-shaped medallions and cloud motifs in low relief, lightly scalloped brown rim. On the base three spur-marks. The reverse with vertical scatter marks. Decorated in underglaze blue with two figures under a pine tree, the one at left holding a parasol. The sides are undecorated. On the base a square fuku (good luck) mark. Besides manufacture for export in the third quarter of the 17th century, blue-and-white porcelain was also produced for the domestic market. It is a continuation and further development of shoki-Imari of the first half of the 17th century, but of better quality. It is characterised by the use of typically Japanese stylised and isolated motifs and the sides of plates and dishes are sometimes modelled in low relief but left undecorated. Such porcelain was by no means intended exclusively for export. Nonetheless, it came to Europe as souvenirs or as part of an order. The presence of a few pieces in early documented collections (e.g., Burghley and Dresden) appears to confirm this. Comparable pieces with a similar mark are in the Shibata Collection (Arita 1990, 1991). There are two identical examples in the Van Di...