Large Dish (Ōzara) with Plants

This large dish, an early Hizen ware excavated from the Maruo kiln site in western Arita, is an important example of large-scale celadon production in Japan. Although few complete celadon pieces survive, shards have been uncovered at more than twenty-two kiln sites across the region, suggesting a broader industry. These wares were likely made for export to Southeast Asia, where numerous comparable dishes have been discovered. They appear to have been crafted to meet a demand previously satisfied by celadons from China’s Longquan kilns. When exports of Chinese ceramics declined sharply in the 1650s, kilns at Arita and Hasami, in Nagasaki Prefecture, responded by mass-producing celadon dishes, patterned using chisels or pressure molds.