Antique Japanese? Vases
2 x Japanese (unsure of country of origin, possibly Chinese?) teal vases decorated with white cranes on bowl, neck is white with hand painted geometric/floral design in gold. I believe they are porcelain. Bowl is 15cm diameter Base is 9cm diameter Top of neck is 4.5cm diameter Overall height is 31cm Height of neck is 18.5cm One of the vases has a clean break at the base of the neck that was repaired (I have been told) early last century with lead “staples”.
My father inherited these vases from his Aunty who was born in the 1880’s, and he passed them on to me. I have been told that they are over 120 years old although that has not been confirmed.
Inherited
Maybe
Dear Sandi,
What you have here are Japanese Satsuma vases. They are named after the province were they are made in Japan. It is not porcelain but earthenware. The vases are not potted on a wheel but made in a mould. The vases are made at the beginning of the 20th century, so they are antiques. The vases are hand painted. The finer the painting the higher the prices are of these wares. Some are painted with a brush with one hair to do the details. Yours are of good quality but not the best so that has effect on the price. Its good you have a pair, collectors want to buy pairs of vases. One vase having a repair is not so good for the value but a professional repair helps. The Japanese refer to the crane as the “bird of happiness”. The crane represents good fortune and longevity in the Japanese culture. Japanese Satsuma is not at his peek in terms of prices at the moment but its possible to sell in auction. If you would like to sell I recommend an auction house with a prescription to an online platform like Invaluable, live-auctioneers or other. That way you are sure there is a good international audience for it.
