This is another fine antique flower vase from our extensive collection of Japanese tea ceremony items. The elegantly potted vase has a tapered cylindrical body sitting on a small foot ring and rising to a flat shoulder and a short flared mouth rim. A stylized lion mask was applied on each side of the upper body. The unglazed flat foot exposes the grayish body burnt orange at the edges. The glaze is of glassy quality with grayish blue color typical of early Ming Dynasty Longquan kiln products. Flower vases from Longquan kiln with elegant form and fine glaze quality are mostly used by Japanese tea master for displaying flower arrangement in front of a hanging scroll in a tea room. This beautiful vase has been preserved in a fine yellow brocade bag and an inscribed wooden box typical of tea ceremony items. Other than a minute glaze chip at the shoulder and a small chip at the foot rim, this celadon vase is in excellent condition with a beautiful glaze and elegant shape.
Size: height: 23cm; body diameter: 11.5cm