How do you clean antique imari plates?

Warm water and a soft cloth work best for cleaning Antique Imari. Add a mild dish soap if the piece feels sticky. Never scrub the surface or use harsh chemical sprays. The overglaze red enamels and gold sit on top of the glaze and will scratch or wash away under abrasive cleaning.

What size are most imari chargers?

Most Antique Imari chargers measure between twelve and eighteen inches across. You sometimes find exhibition pieces exceeding two feet, though these remain less common. Smaller examples tend to classify as large dinner plates rather than true chargers.

I inherited a large blue and red bowl with lots of flowers from my grandmother and I was wondering if it is safe to serve hot soup or food in it nowadays?

Serving dry foods like fruit or wrapped sweets is generally safe. Hot liquids and acidic foods present more of a risk to both the bowl and the user. Antique Imari glazes and metallic paints were not made to modern food-safety standards. The heat from hot soup can also cause sudden thermal shock, cracking an older porcelain body. It is safer to use glass liners if you want to present wet dishes inside older porcelain vessels.

My vase has a mark on the bottom that looks like a little blue flower with some leaves but I cannot read Japanese, does this mean it was made for the domestic market instead of being exported?

A painted base mark doesn't rule out export. Many pieces of Antique Imari bound for Europe carried underglaze blue marks, including the popular Fukagawa orchid mark you're describing. Japanese kilns often used painted sprigs or factory logos on export wares simply because Western buyers preferred the authentic look of characters and symbols. Domestic market wares typically feature different, more subdued palettes and asymmetrical designs rather than specific base marks.

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Antique Imari from the 19th Century

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Antique Imari is a style of highly decorated Japanese export porcelain characterised by rich underglaze blues, iron reds, and gold, originally made to serve as tableware and decorative pieces for European homes.