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My mother recently died. Her family had previously been aristocrats in Japan until later 1930's when they lost about everything due to war. They did stash some items of which some my mother inherited.

I have a Qianlong marked Famille Rose vase which I will be having assessed and appraised by an expert when he returns to this area in a couple weeks. This vase my mother said had been in her family since at least the early 1900's. Her father was much older than her (she was the very youngest of four children-17 years between her and the next) and had been a Lt. General in the Imperial Japan army during the Mejia era.

The other vase I had never seen before while our mother was alive but she did tend to stash things to keep them safe from us children and now grandchildren. This vase has a dragon in clouds but no mark on the bottom.

Would love any help with this vase and also just general information on determining which porcelain items I may wish to have looked at further by this expert. I still have many more boxes to go thru. As I am only half Japanese I do not speak nor read much Japanese so some of the items are difficult for me to initially assess. Thanks!

P.S. I apologize for the photos I am not very good at it but the items are much nicer in person.

Hi,

Both vases appear to be early 20th century in my opinion.

The one in the upper image is of typical late 19th-early 20th century Chinese baluster form, having a short flaring neck and ruffled upper rim, with molded chilong (immature dragons) ascending from the shoulder and 'foo dog' handles on the neck. Though very difficult to say with certainty, its quite busy decoration is a departure from standard patterns and has that slightly disorganized look that suggests it may have been applied at least in part by transfer or decal and then colored by hand, which would be indicative of manufacture circa the 1920s or 30s.

The other vase doesn't appear stylistically to be Chinese nor does it particularly look like a traditional Japanese design to me, but please keep in mind that I am not a mainstream collector of Japanese ceramics. I suppose it might be an Art Deco-era product of some avant garde Kyoto workshop. On the other hand, the general palette and bold execution of its colors and design are reminiscent of some 20th century ceramics I've seen from Vietnam, attributed I think to kilns at Can Tho.

One possibility is that these two items might have been acquired in South China and/or Southeast Asia before or during the Japanese occupation of the 1930's-40's.

Good luck,

Bill H.

Thanks Bill.

I know the upper one is from at least the late 1800's as my mother's family in Japan had it then (my grandfather, who is pictured, was a Lt. General in the imperial Japanese army during the Mejia era).

The dragon one I know nothing about other than my mother had it stashed in her closet and now I have inherited it. Oh well.

Thanks though.

By the way, that is a picture of my grandfather, Hideaki Ikeda.

Here also are some more pictures of the dragon vase.

Hi Bill,

Your comments actually helped me a lot. I think the dragon vase is probably something my father (a U.S. Military man) brought back from Vietnam during one of his two tours there. That would make sense. Or it very well could have been that my grandfather got it during the Japanese occupation as he was in the Imperial Army until 1935 (he died in 1938 from cancer).

Thanks!

Hi Aiko,
I'd be willing to bet that your father brought it back from 'Nam, if for no other reason than the style and palette of such Vietnamese art, even during the Japanese occupation period in Indochina, probably was a bit more traditional than reflected in your vase. I was next door to Vietnam in the 1970's and used to see vases similar to yours quite often.
Best regards,
Bill H.

Hi AIKO and BILL
I think the dragon vase is made in BIEN HOA (VIETNAM)wHICH IS 20/30 KM away from SAIGON
This is becoming well sought after in VIETNAM now
Kind regards
toan

Hi Toan.

Thanks for the correction. I was the only guy on my block who didn't visit Vietnam in the 1970's, so I was depending on hearsay as to where those vases were made.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Very interesting. I will have to research it further that is for sure! Thanks Toan (and Bill for stearing me that way).

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