Antique Japanese Kutani Vase Dai Nippon Dragon Handles Bijin Figures Peony Butterfly Meiji 9H
Antique Japanese Kutani Vase Dai Nippon Dragon Handles Bijin Figures Peony Butterfly Meiji 9H
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Japanese Kutani Vase Dai Nippon Dragon Handles Bijin Figures Peony Butterfly Meiji
Japan, Meiji period, c. 1868–1912
Approx. 9 in. H (23 cm); Weight:
A finely decorated Kutani (九谷) ovoid vase on a splayed foot, bearing the prestigious four-character base mark 大日本九谷造 (Dai Nippon Kutani Zō — "Made in Kutani, Great Japan") — a hallmark of quality Meiji export production. A pair of applied shishi or dragon-dog shoulder handles (ryū-耳) in iron-red flank the narrow neck, each modeled with expressive relief detail; between them, a small applied floral boss in gold enamel anchors the composition at the shoulder. The neck and foot base are finished in iron-red with gold kiri (桐, paulownia) leaf motifs, the shoulder carrying a white cloud-and-wave band.
The body presents two contrasting large cartouche panels. The principal face depicts a bijin-ga (美人画) — a court beauty in formal dress amid a mountain landscape of bamboo, mist, and rockwork — executed in a loose ink-wash manner with grey, amber, and iron-red, the figures rendered with delicate facial detail and the landscape receding convincingly into mist. The reverse panel shifts in mood entirely: a lush kachō-ga (花鳥画) composition of botan (牡丹, peony) in pink and orange with cho (蝶, butterflies) — rendered in softer polychrome enamels that contrast the restrained grey-wash of the figure side. The alternation of these two aesthetic registers — the subdued literati landscape and the vibrant floral — is a sophisticated compositional strategy characteristic of quality Meiji Kutani.
Condition: Good overall; enamel and gold decoration intact. Some wear and minor losses to the iron-red ground on the foot base consistent with age. No chips or cracks to the body. Applied handles intact.
A vase of genuine decorative ambition — the combination of Dai Nippon mark, applied dragon handles, bijin figure painting, and polychrome floral reverse places this well above standard export production.
