Japanese Meiji Satsuma Square Vase with Gilt Rakan Figures

East Asia, Japan, Meiji Period. A square-section Satsuma earthenware vase with tapering sides and a short cylindrical neck, decorated in polychrome enamels and raised gilding. Two broad panels show crowds of haloed rakan, or Buddhist arhats, one with the flying wind god and children above and the other gathered around Kannon. Other sides carry smaller reserves of rakan within grounds of wave, lattice, and floral patterns, and a chrysanthemum medallion surrounds the neck. The base bears the Shimazu crest and a gilt Satsuma mark. Rakan (Sanskrit arhat) are enlightened disciples of the Buddha, usually shown in groups of sixteen, eighteen, or five hundred as aged monks with halos. Meiji Satsuma studios in Kyoto, Osaka, and Kagoshima favored the subject because it let a painter fill a small reserve with dozens of distinct faces. Item # 205572

Estimate:£376.77

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