Japanese Meiji Cloisonne Enamel Covered Jar Cobalt Phoenix Floral Cartouche Bronze Finial 5"H

Japanese Meiji Cloisonne Enamel Covered Jar Cobalt Phoenix Floral Cartouche Bronze Finial

Cloisonné Enamel Covered Jar / Shippo / Cobalt and Brown Ground Ho-oh Phoenix Cartouche

Japan, Meiji Period, late 19th–early 20th century

A globular covered cloisonné jar in the Japanese shippo tradition, the body worked on a cobalt blue and rich brown ground with an overall fish-scale border at the shoulder, the body divided by white beaded oval cartouches. One cartouche encloses a ho-oh (phoenix) amid swirling clouds and scattered blossoms on a brown ground; the alternating cartouche depicts a floral composition on green. Scattered polychrome blossoms — chrysanthemum, cherry, and others — fill the ground between cartouches. The low domed lid repeats the cobalt ground with scattered floral motifs; a cast bronze flower-bud finial surmounts the lid.

Dimensions: 5"H (15 cm) with lid Weight: 9.6oz

The use of white beaded wire to define cartouche borders, combined with the ho-oh phoenix motif and bronze fittings, are hallmarks of quality Meiji-period shippo production. The phoenix (ho-oh) is an auspicious symbol of prosperity and renewal in Japanese iconography.

Condition: Very good; lid present. No significant enamel losses noted.

#1010