I have this bowl and I was told that it is a rice bowl, but other than that I know nothing about it. I was hoping someone might have some insight. Thank you.
Hello, Rice bowls are/were never shaped that way. It has some other use. Items with this shape and decoration would normally be about first quarter of the 20th century. However, the glaze and decoration are in such a good shape that I suspect that they are a more recent production. Mostly, such bowls do not have a mark or a red one if they are antique. The characters are not very clear, but one seems to be written in a style that could or could not be from the secondd half of the 20th century, or later. This item would need a hands-on inspection to verify that.