Japanese Satsuma Earthenware Vase with Rakan and Gilt Brocade Panels

East Asia, Japan, Meiji to early Taisho era. A Satsuma earthenware vase of lobed baluster form with a flared neck, rolled rim, and spreading foot. Four arched panels on a finely crackled cream ground show haloed rakan, the enlightened disciples of the Buddha, gathered with attendants and young boys, holding scrolls, staffs, and offerings, with a teapot and small vessels set among them. The figures are painted in polychrome enamels, with robes worked in dense raised gilding. Gilt brocade bands of lattice, hexagon, and floral patterns frame the panels at the shoulder and foot. The base bears the Shimazu crest and a gilt mark. The name Satsuma comes from the southern Kyushu domain where the ware began. By the late nineteenth century, however, most decorated Satsuma was painted in workshops in Kyoto, Osaka, and Yokohama on blanks with a crackled ivory glaze. It was made for Western buyers after Japan's displays at the world's fairs. Rakan (Sanskrit arhat) were among the most popular subjects. Painters often showed them in large groups, with halos and miraculous attributes such as dragons, alms bowls, and rising vapors. Crowding many small figures into a reserve was a way to display fine brushwork, and it was valued for exactly that reason. Item # 205563

Estimate:£375.15

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