This plate is painted with the ‘Three Friends of Winter’ – bamboo, pine and prunus; so called as bamboo and pine are evergreen plants while prunus trees only blossom during winter. This Chinese motif symbolises longevity. Here the design is done in the Japanese Kakiemon style within a Chinese diaper pattern border. Chinese porcelain wares decorated in the Kakiemon style are rarer than those imitating Japanese Imari porcelain. In contrast to the heavily decorated Imari wares, Kakiemon designs show more restraint. Motifs are finely painted in translucent overglaze enamels with large undecorated areas highlighting the distinctive milky-white body. The high demand for Japanese porcelain saw European porcelain factories reproducing and modifying the colours and patterns of Imari and Kakiemon wares in their products. It also led to Dutch enamellers painting Japanese designs on blank Chinese wares. The demand even resulted in Jingdezhen producing wares in the Japanese style for export to Europe from the late 17th to mid 18th century.
