Ritas Bazaar has dated this Japanese Sumida Gawa Vase to the 1910s.
A buff stoneware body of the paler Sumida variant, left largely unglazed to display the heavily ribbed, wheel-thrown surface — the pronounced throwing rings running across the waisted cylindrical body and the stepped, flaring foot. The flared trumpet mouth and upper body are covered in a lustrous aubergine-black treacle glaze that pools at the rim and drips irregularly down over the pale body in tongues and runs, thinning in places to reveal amber, olive and blue-grey streaks — the flambé effect characteristic of the workshop.
A rakan (Buddhist arhat, 羅漢), bald and finely wrinkled, is shown seated on olive-glazed craggy rockwork at the front of the vase, wrapped in flowing russet-brown robes with a pale cowl falling behind one shoulder. He holds aloft a dark spherical hōju (宝珠), the wish-granting jewel, his expression one of quiet amusement. A further porcelaneous fragment of robe in blue-and-white trails around the reverse. The three-dimensional figure wraps the front of the vessel with his drapery and rockwork continuing around the sides. Interior glazed in graduated aubergine-to-cream. Underside fully unglazed, revealing the pale buff clay with concentric turning rings.
Hallmark: applied porcelain cartouche at the lower body on the reverse, painted in underglaze cobalt blue with the signature Ryōsai (良斎), consistent with marks associated with the Inoue Ryōsai workshop.
Dimensions: H 11.5 cm, W 6.5 cm. Weight 155 g.
Condition: good antique condition, honest age-related wear consistent with period use. Please carefully regard all photos as they make an integral part of the listing, and reach out if there are any questions.
Ritas Bazaar has dated this Japanese Sumida Gawa Vase to the 1910s.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Ritas Bazaar Profile Page
Sumida Gawa Stoneware Vase with Applied Rakan Figure, Signed Ryōsai, Meiji–Taishō Period
