Unusual Early 20th Century Makuzu Kozan Vase

An antique Japanese Satsuma vase dating from the late nineteenth century. Hexagonal in shape with each panel hand decorated. Two have Japanese women walking in a landscape, cherry bl...

A pair of antique French porcelain vases in the Chinoiserie style dating from the mid nineteenth century. The vases are painted in a celadon green with a pagoda in the center and a ...

18th century Japanese Gennai Ware vase, known for its bright coloring, Gennai Ware was produced by Hiraga Gennai (1728-1780), a scientist and intellectual who lived in what is now Shido, Kagawa Prefecture. Gennai Ware is stylistically similar to Kochi Ware which is an early Chinese pottery...

A Japanese long neck porcelain vase circa 1900-1910s by the studio of Miyagawa Kozan (1842–1916), one of the most established and collected Japanese ceramist from the end of Meiji Period. Commonly known as Makuzu Kozan, which also appears as the signature on his work, his originally birth name was Miyagawa Toranosuke. He was the appointed artist to the Japanese Imperial household and his work was exhibited in many international fairs that the Meiji government participated at the turn of the century. This vase features an elegant Classic form with a slender neck and slightly flared mouth above a baluster body. It was finely painted with two swimming carps in a copper red underglaze among green ribbons like waves. The background display a brilliant verdant green overall, Around the fish a poetic hazy effect was emphasized for a visual complexity by Fuki-e (the blow painting), an invention in Kozan's studio. The new technical development of chemical colors from the west was embraced circa 1900s in Kozan studio. This empowered the more creative experiments with not only colors, but also concept of dimension, which led Makuzu Kozan's work to become a bridge between East and West aesthetics. This is particularly evident in this vase with the Masterly details of the brush strokes, the expertly employment of gradient of color, and a very realistic and detailed rendering of the fish and their vivid motions. For two similar examples of Kozan's work with similar carps decoration, see Page 148-149 of the book: Sekai ni Aisa Reta ya Kimono Miyagawa Kozan Makuzu...