A porcelain vase
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION 
A porcelain vase

MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY), SIGNED MAKUZU KOZAN SEI (MIYAGAWA KOZAN; 1842-1916)

Details
A porcelain vase
Meiji period (late 19th century), signed Makuzu Kozan sei (Miyagawa Kozan; 1842-1916)
The baluster form flaring to the base with inverted mouth, decorated with budding lotus flowers in purple and white and leaves and stalks in green, all against a pale green ground, signature in underglaze blue within a double-line rectangular reserve, interior glazed
6¾in. (17.1cm.) high

Lot Essay

In Buddhist belief, the lotus symbolizes purity because it emerges from the mud unstained.

From the late Meiji period, Miyagawa Kozan studied Chinese ceramics and his works from that period often show inspiration from Qing-dynasty porcelains. Kozan was appointed an Artist to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu Gigeiin) in 1896.

For a similar work by Kozan, see Ceramics, Part 1, Meiji no takara Treasures of Imperial Japan: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, Oliver Impey and Malcolm Fairley, gen. eds. (London: The Kibo Foundation, 1995), no. 33.

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