This HUGE and wonderful antique Buddhist theme Japanese vase is believed to have come back from Japan with the New Zealand occupational forces ("J-Force") between 1945 - 1947

It is a stunning UNIQUE masterpiece that has always attracted much favourable comment when out on display

Featuring seven dancing SKELETON band members and a SERENE seated figure of the Buddha, along with two Niō Japanese Buddhist Temple Guardian Demons

Niō (仁王) or Kongōrikishi (金剛力士) are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon. According to Japanese tradition, they travelled with Gautama Buddha to protect him and there are references to this in the Pāli Canon as well as the Ambaṭṭha Sutta. Within the generally pacifist tradition of Buddhism, stories of dharmapalas justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil. The Niō are also seen as a manifestation of Mahasthamaprapta, the bodhisattva of power that flanks Amitābha in Pure Land Buddhism and as Vajrasattva in Tibetan Buddhism.



I have owned this UNIQUE and OUTSTANDING piece for many years, but am now downsizing

HEIGHT = 440 mm or approx 17.6" tall

WIDTH = 300 mm  or approx 12" across at shoulder


I was advised that that was a Seto Ware item and an unsigned work by a highly accomplished MASTER POTTER

Seto ware (瀬戸焼 Seto-yaki) refers to a type of Japanese pottery, stoneware, and ceramics produced in and around Seto in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The Japanese term for it, setomono, is also used as a generic term for all pottery.

Seto was the location of one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan

History

Pottery made in Seto dates back to the 13th century. Katō Shirōzaemon is credited as the first to produce wares in the town. In the 1220s he studied the art of pottery in China. After several failed attempts in various Japanese towns, Shirōzaemon founded a successful kiln at Seto. Other potters followed thereafter and Seto became a renowned center for ceramic production.

Potters drew inspiration from Chinese ceramics, including green celadon porcelains and dark brown tenmoku wares. The earliest Seto ceramics may have evolved from failed attempts to reproduce Chinese celadons.

During the Kamakura period, wares produced in Seto imitated the pottery of the Song Dynasty in China. Later, in the Muromachi period (1337–1573), Seto glazes were refined and the styles developed there spread to other areas in Japan such as modern Gifu Prefecture.

Later Seto wares were given a brown iron glaze and fired at high temperatures to create glossy surfaces.

During the Kan'ei era (1624–44), the first lord of Owari Tokugawa Yoshinao (1601–1650) had a kiln constructed at the corner of the Ofuke enceinte (Ofukemaru) of Nagoya Castle and invited potters from Seto to make pottery there.

The Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum in Seto has a large and exemplary collection of Seto ware.


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Postage

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