This plate with a pattern of a Japanese-style phoenix and floral motifs was one of the most intricate Asian-inspired designs produced at Worcester. The details were always well painted and the pattern was used to decorate the best quality porcelain. The pattern is rendered in a style developed at Worcester, known as ‘Rich Kakiemon’; where the colours and composition of the original Kakiemon patterns were reinterpreted to be bolder and more flamboyant.The Japanese Kakiemon style had one of the greatest impact on European ceramics. Kakiemon porcelain was produced in the area of Arita in present-day Saga prefecture on Kyushu Island. Kakiemon is named after the potter, Sakaida Kakiemon (1596-1666), who was reputed to have pioneered the use of colour enamels on porcelain in Japan. Motifs are finely painted in translucent overglaze enamels with large undecorated areas highlighting the distinctive milky-white body.
