A KAKIEMON VASE EDO PERIOD, LATE 17TH CENTURY |

oviform with short ring neck and deep foot rim, decorated in iron red, green, yellow, aubergine, blue and black enamels, with three panels each containing two Chinese figures, one under a parasol and the other with a fan, amongst plum and bamboo issuing from rockwork, a bird perched in the upper bowing branches, the panels divided by flowerheads and scrolling foliage, the neck and foot with underglaze blue circumferential lines alternately bordering flowers and a geometric design

There is a well-restored crack to the vase, which extends from the rim of one panel, down and through the base to the rim of the adjoining panel. These two are joined by a further well-restored crack across the centre of the vase. The small holes where rivets were have been restored. There is some enamel wear but the enamels are vivid.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

For a similar Kakiemon vase in the collection of Augustus the Strong, Dresden, see Friedrich Reichel, Early Japanese Porcelain: Arita Porcelain in the Dresden Collection (Leipzig, 1980), pl.18. For another in the collection of the Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, see Mark Hinton and Oliver Impey, Kakiemon Porcelain from the English Country House (London, 1989), pl.35 p.57.

For other comparable vases see John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, 1980), pl 260; Soame Jenyns, Japanese Porcelain (London, 1965), no. 57b (ex. coll. Richard de la Mare); John Ayers et al., Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650 – 1750, exh. cat. (London, 1990), pl. 138 (also coll. Porzellansammlung, Dresden); Gervase Jackson-Stops, ed., The Treasure Houses of Britain, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, (Washington, D. C., 1985), pl. 131 (coll. Woburn Abbey); Yabe Yoshiaki, ed., Imari, Nihon no bijiutsu 6, no. 157 (Tokyo, 1979), no. 121 (coll. Matsuoka Museum); ibid, Kakiemon, vol. 20 of Nihon toji taisei [Compendium of Japanese ceramics] (Tokyo, 1989), pl. 36 (coll. Matsuoka Museum).