• Late 19th century
• Japanese
• Height: 64 in.
• Porcelain

Meiji era, porcelain with underglaze blue and polychrome overglaze enamels and gilding. This enormous vase, which took over a week to shape (as evidenced by join marks visible in profile view), has a multi-part domed lid including an open work “pompadour” style knop, elephant handles on the high shoulders, major figural scenes on each side contained within elaborately-shaped cartouches, and multiple background and handle designs.  The sides are shaped into twelve compartments, a division which continues onto the high lip and lid.  A dance performance at court, the higher officials seated on a palace veranda and the performers and lower ranked officials below in a courtyard, is portrayed in one of the cartouches, which has an elaborate phoenix – design profile.  There originally was a mate to this vase; matched pairs are typical of such vases, and parts of the lid of the companion piece are in the museum collection.



Accession number: 1998.224