Japanese 17th C Edo Period Arita Vase with lid & stand - RARE -C 1695- 39cm H

Late 17th Century Japanese Arita inverted baluster vase with cover and later stand. A wonderful and increasingly rare example of an early piece of Japanese porcelain. The cover is of domed form and  is surmounted by a gilded "Fou Dog" handle. The vase and cover are decorated decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and iron-red with fine gold gilding Split into four panels. Two panels have a garden scene with chrysanthemums and trellis fencing and the other two feature an of the  Ho-ho bird flying above a cherry tree in blossom. The Ho-ho bird is a mythical creature  of Japan and sometimes referred to as equating to a western Phoenix. All of the images are highly symbolic and important to Japanese culture at this time

In the late 17th Century the demand for Chinese dishes in Europe was huge and with the fall of the Ming Dynasty tin 1644 there was a shortage of supply to Europe. The Dutch turned to Japan to fill this need and so the Japanese Kilns started to produce copies of the Chinese porcelain to fill the demand. The Japanese kilns however still could not produce sufficient quantities demanded of these wares as their production was on a much smaller scale than the Chinese and therefore at the time the Japanese Arita wares were very expensive and exclusive.  Also the Japanese very quickly developed their own style which is so loved by collectors

An incredible and decorative 17th Century Arita Temple vase  in excellent condition