Monumental Kyoto Satsuma Vase Signed Seiko-en Chokei, Meiji Period

This monumental Kyoto Satsuma vase from the late Meiji period is a tour-de-force of Japanese ceramic painting. The broad baluster body with short flared neck stands on a gilt key-fret foot and is completely wrapped in a continuous frieze of scholars, Daoist immortals and attendants in a river landscape, painted on an ivory crackled ground in finely shaded enamels and lavish raised gold.

The quality of painting is fully on a level with the best Kyoto Satsuma of the period. Each figure is treated as a separate portrait: eyes, brows, wrinkles and hands are drawn in hair-fine lines, with the same psychological nuance one expects from the top Kyoto masters such as Kinkozan and the Yasuda circle. The robes and swirling clouds are built up in dense raised gold, forming an almost textile surface of brocade patterns that shimmers as the light moves across the vase. Turning the piece reveals a sequence of different scenes, so the owner effectively has several paintings in one object, able to change the mood of a room simply by rotating it.

Around the shoulder runs a sumptuous chrysanthemum and foliage brocade in red, turquoise, white and gilt – a hallmark of high-grade Kyoto Satsuma. On the underside, a gilt and black cartouche and calligraphic inscription have been read by a Japanese specialist as “Satsuma-yaki, Seiko-en, Chokei ga”, with red seals “Seiko / ??” and “Dai Nihon”. This firmly attributes the vase to the Kyoto studio Seiko-en and the painter Chokei. No other large signed examples by this combination are currently recorded in Western literature or auction archives, which fits the well-known Japanese habit of reserving the very finest work for wealthy domestic patrons. A vessel of this scale and complexity, executed by a single hand, represents many months of concentrated labour; the total lifetime output of comparable pieces must have been very small. In that sense it is closer to a unique painting than to serial export ware and offers the kind of long-term cultural investment that does not depend on a “fashionable” signature.

Condition: very good for the size and age. There is a small hairline at the rim and a star-shaped glaze crack to the underside; under UV both are old, stable and confined to the glaze only. No structural cracks, restorations or repainting; enamels and gilding remain impressively rich.

Dimensions: height 35.5 cm; maximum diameter 28.6 cm; weight approx. 4.529 kg.

Please study the accompanying photographs carefully as they form an integral part of this description. If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them. The item will be shipped with full tracking and insurance. It is important to note that shipping costs include labour, packaging and postage.