Ref: W569
Archive item - not for sale
Japanese Satsuma vase, Meiji (1868-1912) c.1900, of archaic bronze trumpet form with everted rim, finely decorated in enamels and gilt with two large panels; one containing a scene of the springtime festival hanamatsuri, with dancers, musicians and standard bearers outside a gatehouse in a landscape with pine trees, cherry blossom, iris and trailing wisteria, the other panel containing a teahouse garden scene, with a finely dressed lady and small child standing amongst camellia shrubs, three women and a child seated on the teahouse balcony with a folding screen, a lake with thatched buildings visible in the background and autumnal maple leaves (momiji) overhead, the panels set against cobalt blue ground with gilt floral cell and cartouches containing hoho birds and leafy scroll, the base with the mark of the Shimazu clan and the Yasuda crest, above a square cartouche reading dai nihon (‘great Japan’) and signed Hozan Matsumoto (宝山松本), Kyoto.
Dimensions:
Height: 35.5 cm. (14 in)
Condition:
Good; some slight wear to gilding
Notes:
Hozan Matsumoto was a Meiji Satsuma artist connected to the Yasuda trading company (full name Yasuda Kyoto Tokiji Goshigaisha). The Shimazu clan were the daimyo (hereditary leaders) of the Satsuma han in southern Kyushu, where many export wares such as this vase were produced.
For more information on Japanese marks: Marks on Japanese Ceramics
