Sumida Gawa Stoneware Vase with Applied Rakan Figure, Signed Ryōsai, Meiji–Taishō Period
£230.00
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A hand-thrown Sumida ware (隅田焼 / Sumida-gawa) trumpet vase of gu form, Japan, late Meiji to early Taishō period, c. 1900-1920, signed Ryōsai and attributed to the workshop of Inoue Ryōsai (井上良斎).
A buff stoneware body of the paler Sumida variant, left largely unglazed to display the heavily ribbed, wheel-thrown surface — the pronounced throwing rings running across the waisted cylindrical body and the stepped, flaring foot. The flared trumpet mouth and upper body are covered in a lustrous aubergine-black treacle glaze that pools at the rim and drips irregularly down over the pale body in tongues and runs, thinning in places to reveal amber, olive and blue-grey streaks — the flambé effect characteristic of the workshop.
The applied decoration is separately modeled and glazed in porcelaneous white, iron-brown and cobalt underglaze blue, attached to the body before the final firing.
A rakan (Buddhist arhat, 羅漢), bald and finely wrinkled, is shown seated on olive-glazed craggy rockwork at the front of the vase, wrapped in flowing russet-brown robes with a pale cowl falling behind one shoulder. He holds aloft a dark spherical hōju (宝珠), the wish-granting jewel, his expression one of quiet amusement. A further porcelaneous fragment of robe in blue-and-white trails around the reverse. The three-dimensional figure wraps the front of the vessel with his drapery and rockwork continuing around the sides. Interior glazed in graduated aubergine-to-cream. Underside fully unglazed, revealing the pale buff clay with concentric turning rings.
Hallmark: applied porcelain cartouche at the lower body on the reverse, painted in underglaze cobalt blue with the signature Ryōsai (良斎), consistent with marks associated with the Inoue Ryōsai workshop.
Dimensions: H 11.5 cm, W 6.5 cm. Weight 155 g.
Condition: good antique condition, honest age-related wear consistent with period use. Please carefully regard all photos as they make an integral part of the listing, and reach out if there are any questions.
Sumida Gawa Stoneware Vase with Applied Rakan Figure, Signed Ryōsai, Meiji–Taishō Period
£230.00
A buff stoneware body of the paler Sumida variant, left largely unglazed to display the heavily ribbed, wheel-thrown surface — the pronounced throwing rings running across the waisted cylindrical body and the stepped, flaring foot. The flared trumpet mouth and upper body are covered in a lustrous aubergine-black treacle glaze that pools at the rim and drips irregularly down over the pale body in tongues and runs, thinning in places to reveal amber, olive and blue-grey streaks — the flambé effect characteristic of the workshop.
The applied decoration is separately modeled and glazed in porcelaneous white, iron-brown and cobalt underglaze blue, attached to the body before the final firing.
A rakan (Buddhist arhat, 羅漢), bald and finely wrinkled, is shown seated on olive-glazed craggy rockwork at the front of the vase, wrapped in flowing russet-brown robes with a pale cowl falling behind one shoulder. He holds aloft a dark spherical hōju (宝珠), the wish-granting jewel, his expression one of quiet amusement. A further porcelaneous fragment of robe in blue-and-white trails around the reverse. The three-dimensional figure wraps the front of the vessel with his drapery and rockwork continuing around the sides. Interior glazed in graduated aubergine-to-cream. Underside fully unglazed, revealing the pale buff clay with concentric turning rings.
Hallmark: applied porcelain cartouche at the lower body on the reverse, painted in underglaze cobalt blue with the signature Ryōsai (良斎), consistent with marks associated with the Inoue Ryōsai workshop.
Dimensions: H 11.5 cm, W 6.5 cm. Weight 155 g.
Condition: good antique condition, honest age-related wear consistent with period use. Please carefully regard all photos as they make an integral part of the listing, and reach out if there are any questions.