Preliminary identification
Photo reference
2 uploaded photos
Overview
A delightful Chinese blue and white porcelain small bowl or teacup featuring scrolling lotus and floral blooms painted in freehand cobalt beneath a pale celadon-tinged glaze. It displays an iron-dressed rim (fuchibeni) and a characteristic gritty, unglazed footring bearing a stylized mark within concentric blue rings.
Story
In the early 1600s, Japanese tea masters commissioned idiosyncratic ceramics from China known as Ko-sometsuke. Flaws, grit, and spontaneous brushwork were celebrated as wabi-sabi perfection.
Maker / Origin
Produced by private kilns (minyao) in Jingdezhen, China, rather than the rigid imperial workshops. These artisans worked rapidly and expressively, catering heavily to Japanese merchant orders following the collapse of official imperial patronage during the late Wanli and Tianqi eras.
Condition & Value
Shows grit adhesion to the footrim, typical glaze pooling, light surface wear, and minor rim flea-bites or glaze flakes consistent with age and Ko-sometsuke style. Such characteristics are traditionally embraced in Japanese tea aesthetics and support its appeal.
Full Research
Sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance pulled from recent auction results.
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Comparable demand stays strongest where maker, originality, and venue confidence line up. Broader examples still trade, but the range tightens quickly when provenance, condition, or selling lane fit is missing.
Best Venue
Specialty auction or a focused dealer with buyers already in this lane.
Signed example with light edge wear and original frame.
Comparable format with stronger provenance and cleaner surface.
Smaller related piece with visible craquelure and trimmed margins.
Period match with softer condition and weaker subject matter.
Close market lane comp with similar material and presentation.