Four Leaf Clover Marked Glazed Dish

I bought this because I liked the glaze and the shape but unfortunately I have little to no knowledge of pottery or pottery marks so anyone's input into the age/style/maker would be greatly appreciated! I am in Canada so it may be a Canadian or American piece as well.

Thanks for the information! I thought Asian initially when I bought it maybe a rice bowl although it has a 6" diameter which seems a little large and shallow for that. From what I can find from my own research it may be Japanese stoneware. I only find one example of this bowl with the same shape and a stamp mark on the side (although not the same as mine but in the same position). It must be a really specific form of Japanese thrown pottery like raku but for rice bowls rather than Japanese Tea Ceremony. Alas the research continues, thank you for your help!

It does look like a Japanese stoneware rice bowl as you suggest and I think that the mark is a kiln mark rather than that of a specific potter. Basically, that means that it is a piece of the standard production from the kiln that might have been made by a single potter or, more likely, one of a team of potters working at that kiln. So it isn't an individual piece by a specific potter.

You might be lucky and stumble upon a piece with the same mark but from experience that isn't very likely. The style of pottery isn't distinctive enough for me to link it with a specific area or town.

Naomi is correct about there being several kilns in some Japanese towns that are passed down through the generations but in others there might be more than "several", which make the job of identifying the mark on your bowl more difficult.

I will use Hagi City in Japan as an example. This city is reknown for a specific type of pottery and has its own association of ceramic artists. I have a copy of a handbook of members that was produced a few years ago and there are 108 potters included. This is not a definitive list of all potters working in Hagi, as I know of a few important ones, who I assume didn't wish to join the association, and I imagine not everyone who wished to join was accepted.

So how big is this city with more than 108 professional potters? Noting where you both live, Hagi has a slightly larger population than Littlehampton in W. Sussex and a slightly smaller population than Victoria in British Colombia, so not a vast metropolis.

Thank you both for your informative posts. Japanese pottery is something that I have just begun to delve more into (as I usually find specific pieces I like then have the Herculean task of researching more about them - since I live in such a culturally diverse city I find pieces from all over the world.)

Naomi, you mention the date determined by stamp/inscription? The piece I posted has been inscribed rather than stamped (as the only other similar example I could find - sorry for the confusion). Could you elaborate more on this?

I suppose I wont be able to find out much more into its specific origin since as far as I know there isnt a complete cataloged list (at least in English) of these specific generational kilns for each city and their markings. But I am satisfied with at least knowing its Japanese in origin. Thank you both again!