An octagonal Japanese Kakiemon "Hob in the well' dish, Edo, 2nd half 17th C. Dia.: 26 cm  Decorated in polychrome enamels and gilt over clear glaze with a scene of Sima Guang rescuing a drowning companion from a water jar, known in Europe as the "Hob in the well". The design was copied in the UK in Bow and Chelsea, and in Germany, in Meissen.  See also:- Christie's, New York, March 17, 2009, Lot 12, for a smaller similar plate. (Sold USD 30.000) (link)- Sotheby's, London, June 9, 2004, Lot 1023, for a nearly identical example. (Sold GBP 14.400) (link)- Yabe Yoshiaki, Kakiemon, vol. 20 of Nihon toji taikei - Compendium of Japanese ceramics, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 50, for a similar example- The Burghley Porcelains: An Exhibition from the Burghley House Collection, Japan Society, New York, 1986, p. 162-163, no. 56, for a similar example- Flowers of Fire: Kakiemon Porcelain from the English Country House, Mark Hinton and Oliver Impey, London, 1989, p. 54, pl. 31, for a similar example- Kakiemon no sekai: genryu kara gendai made - Exhibition of the world of Kakiemon: from its origins to the present, Nagatake Takeshi, Yabe Yoshiaki and Minamoto Hiromichi, exhibition catalogue Fukuoka, 1983, p.124, pl. 148, for a similar example