Are Imari vases usually sold in pairs?

Very often. Of 343 listings on Sellingantiques, 141 say "pair" in the title, so nearly half the archive is sold in multiples. Beyond pairs there are trios, five-piece and seven-piece collections, and full chimneypiece garnitures. Sets sit above single vases of comparable description.

How big do these vases get?

The range is wide. At one end sit bud vases and spill vases a few inches high; at the other, floor-standing pieces with stated heights of 93cm, 147cm and 152cm. The word "large" appears in 94 titles, so a good-sized vase is the norm rather than the exception here.

What does the Imari palette actually mean?

Underglaze blue applied before glazing, then overglaze iron-red and gold added afterwards. That combination is what the name describes. Because it is a colour scheme rather than a factory, English, French and Chinese makers used it too. Titles carrying "palette" or "pattern" tend to be those pieces.

Why are so many listed as circa 1900?

The dated field spans 1700 to 1930, and its two largest groups are "1900s" and "19th Century". Many of the 1900 entries are round-number placeholders rather than researched dates. Firmer decades do exist in the archive, mostly the 1850s through the 1890s. Read 1900 as a band covering the turn of the century.

Which are the earliest pieces in this category?

The early Arita, Edo and Genroku vases of roughly 1680 to 1750. They are a small seam, around one in twelve listings, and one title reaches back to circa 1680. They sit high in the range against the mass of later Japanese work.

Do lidded Imari vases turn up often?

Roughly one in six. Titles use "lidded", "cover" or "covers", and covered jar shapes are part of the same group. Covers recur through the upper half of the range, and they are a regular component of garnitures.

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Antique Imari Vases

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Japanese porcelain vases painted in underglaze blue with iron-red and gold, made for export and sold for display, from small spill vases up to floor-standing pieces well over a metre tall.