Japanese Sumida Gawa Baluster Vase with Applied Karako Figure, Signed Kōko — Meiji / Early Taisho Period
£280.00
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An unusual Sumida ware (隅田焼 / Sumida-gawa) baluster vase, Japan, late Meiji to early Taishō period, c. 1900-1920, signed Kōko and attributed to the potter Ishiguro Kōko (石黒光湖). The form is tall and elegant, rising from a narrow foot through a swelling shoulder to a freely modeled, ruffled mouth that gives the piece an almost Art Nouveau silhouette — an unusual departure from the more conventional cylindrical mugs and rounded vases typical of the workshop.
The body is built in iron-rich earthenware and finished with the deep coral-red slip characteristic of Sumida, here worked with incised and impressed surface textures that recall aged bark or weathered wood. Flowing from the mouth and shoulder, a dramatic drip glaze in cobalt blue, pale celadon, and aubergine-black cascades irregularly down the upper half of the vessel, pooling at the edges of the red ground below in a deliberately "mountainous" or "waterfall" effect prized by the Sumida kilns.
The rim and high points catch a warm amber-brown, while the cavities hold deeper blues and greens.
Emerging from the red slip is a fully three-dimensional karako (唐子 — Chinese-style boy) in porcelain, modeled with twin hair tufts and a spotted blue-and-white robe, scrambling upward and grasping what appears to be a blue wand or branch. A small green jade-like accent and amber-glazed rockwork support his feet, anchoring the figure into the composition.
The applied karako is separately modeled in porcelaneous white with underglaze cobalt blue and fired with the vessel. On the lower body, an applied porcelain teardrop cartouche bears the underglaze cobalt blue signature Kōko (光湖), consistent with marks associated with Ishiguro Kōko.
Height 19 cm. Weight 400 g. In very good antique condition, with light surface abrasion and minor glaze imperfections commensurate with age and use; no restorations, no cracks, the karako and all applied elements intact.
Japanese Sumida Gawa Baluster Vase with Applied Karako Figure, Signed Kōko — Meiji / Early Taisho Period
£280.00
The body is built in iron-rich earthenware and finished with the deep coral-red slip characteristic of Sumida, here worked with incised and impressed surface textures that recall aged bark or weathered wood. Flowing from the mouth and shoulder, a dramatic drip glaze in cobalt blue, pale celadon, and aubergine-black cascades irregularly down the upper half of the vessel, pooling at the edges of the red ground below in a deliberately "mountainous" or "waterfall" effect prized by the Sumida kilns.
The rim and high points catch a warm amber-brown, while the cavities hold deeper blues and greens.
Emerging from the red slip is a fully three-dimensional karako (唐子 — Chinese-style boy) in porcelain, modeled with twin hair tufts and a spotted blue-and-white robe, scrambling upward and grasping what appears to be a blue wand or branch. A small green jade-like accent and amber-glazed rockwork support his feet, anchoring the figure into the composition.
The applied karako is separately modeled in porcelaneous white with underglaze cobalt blue and fired with the vessel. On the lower body, an applied porcelain teardrop cartouche bears the underglaze cobalt blue signature Kōko (光湖), consistent with marks associated with Ishiguro Kōko.
Height 19 cm. Weight 400 g. In very good antique condition, with light surface abrasion and minor glaze imperfections commensurate with age and use; no restorations, no cracks, the karako and all applied elements intact.