Large Antique Japanese Meiji Period Imari Porcelain Charger Marked Wanshan Zao

Late 19th/Early 20th c., large Japanese Meiji bronze floor urn. The principal decoration on both sides of the vase is rendered in beautiful and strong relief. One side depicts birds, possibly skylarks, in flight and on flowering cherry blossom branches. The opposite side depicts herons wading and alighting on a flowering tree. the upper and lower portions of urn are decorated with repeating arched lozenges detailed with scrolls and flora. The urn is adorned with foo dog handles, unmarked. This is an impressive and beautiful bronze urn. In bronze-working, Meiji period craftsmen were newly empowered to attempt distinctive, innovative, and complex pieces. Makers were influenced less by the West than by China, which had had a relationship with Japan stretching back thousands of years, far further than Japan’s recent association with Western powers. Artistry in bronze-work reached new heights in the Meiji period, as a number of metalworking schools developed, creating intricate pieces including vases, sculptures...

A 19th Century hand hewn tree trunk storage barrel with lid. This large lidded barrel has oodles of character. The organic shape of the barrel retains the shape of the tree from whic...

18 Inch Japanese Imari Charger - very large and decorative. The mixed illustrative painted scenes are with great pattern and texture, and mixed with floral and organic images of blos...

A large 18.25" diameter Japanese Imari porcelain charger, Edo to Meiji Period, mid 19th century, Japan. The large charger of near flattened form and decorated in the typical Imari palette of underglaze blue with red, orange and green overglaze enamels and gilt highlights. The design is centered on a roundel with a dense design of scrolling peony blossoms and leaves in underglaze blue. Two large pictorial reserves of Shinto priests...