A FINE PAIR OF COBALT SATSUMA VASES, JAPAN, MEIJI PERIOD c.1880–1910

Of full ovoid form with an everted rim, each vase painted continuously with a procession of bijin and attendants set within a sweeping lakeside landscape - willows trailing over still water, mountain silhouettes receding into a pale horizon, a thatched pavilion glimpsed through the trees. The figures are rendered with individual attention, their kimono decorated in iron-red, aubergine, and olive against the warm crackle ground. Above and below, cobalt-ground borders carry dense gilt scrolling patterns. The creamy crackle-glazed base on both pieces bears a square cartouche inscribed Dai Nihon Hakuzan-zō with the workshop's wheel device in gold.

Ht. 12 inches