Satsuma Thousand Face Vase or Urn Palace Sized Twin Handled

Blue and white Chinese lidded ginger jar. Large and Impressive. Signed on bottom is this very impressive lidded jar from China having a long heavy bottom and a lid with a handle. 19t...

Sèvres spinning urn having a Maiden & Cherub painting signed Lingaand. A finely bronze mounted 19th-20th century lidded urn with a magnificent painted...

An Satsuma ceramic stone ware vase, circa 19th century, around the end of the Edo and the beginning of Meiji period. In the form of a Classic garlic bottle whose prototype was from China, the white bodied piece is decorated with an early form of kin nishikide, the so called golden brocade, a palette of iron-red, blue, green, yellow, purple and black with golden highlight. The over glazed enamel paint shows a group of robed figures in a garden setting with a lion and three tigers. A transparent overall glaze shows very fine crackles. The design is relatively sparse with plenty of negative space in contrast to the Satsuma production from the late 19th century, when the trend became fussy and overly glitz, due to the influence by the perceived western taste for the export market. This piece may still be made for export but its pattern was more influenced by both Kyoto Pottery and the Kano school of painting compared to the export ware by the end of the 19th century onward to the early 20th century. It was believed by many that this was a result of Satsuma potters visiting Kyoto in the late seventeenth century to learn over glaze painting techniques. There are some age glaze crackles especially around the foot. The piece is not signed in keeping with the earlier production before Satsuma ceramics...

A large Japanese ceramic vase from the end of Meiji period circa 1890-1910s by Kinkozan (1645-1927). One of the largest studio manufacturers of the export ceramics at the time based in Kyoto. In the typical style of satsuma made at the turn of 20th century, the vase is elaborately decorated with a rather unusual kinran-de (gold paint) and green enamel highlight on a mottled brown background. The painterly decoration depicts a large seasonal floral arrangement in a circular fashion. Besides the obviously superb craftsmanship, what sets this particular vase apart from many lower quality and mass-produced pieces is its tone-on-tone color pallet that is visually somber and the small and sensitive details that heralds the change of the seasons. When the viewer goes beyond the first casual glimpse of the blossom and foliage, one would notice that on the edges of certain leaves as well as along the stalks, there accumulates a very thin layer of the white dust that represents the frost. The flower in bloom are chrysanthemums. Despite of being splendid, they are the messengers of the autumn. The large lotus leaf was subtly rendered in a bended and slightly withered manner, just past its prime. Although the lotus is still in bloom, the prominent seed pod indicates it may be the last for the season. The sentimental capture of the change of the seasons is not unusual in Japanese art. This vase poetically represents such a subtle transition from summer to fall, perhaps depicting the very first frost. The neck of the vase is also slightly unusual with two rolled rings...