Yabu Meizan (Japanese, 1853-1934). Japanese Meiji period satsuma lidded teapot, beautifully decorated with a floral design sprawling from the lid down to the base and along the handle and spout. Marked with the mark of Yabu Meizan along the underside. Partial label affixed along the inside of the lid. Meizan's formative years placed him as a painter, who was awarded with high marks in school for his skills. This painterly prowess in Meizan led him to discover and execute painting on earthenware and ceramics (satsuma). Through the satsuma style, Meizan became one of the highest regarded artists within his field during the Meiji period (1868-1912) in Western Japan. At age 27, Meizan started his own workshop specializing in custom ceramics for Japanese and global export. The fascination in Meizan's work from the West during the 19th century aided in the acclaim of his work in Japan, leading to Meizan's appointing as an Imperial Court Artist. Meizan's drive to create beautifully and ornately painted crockware was not only seen through his commercial output, but through his participation and focus on world's fairs of his time. Through these world's fairs in unison with his successful mass produced artistic output, Meizan became a representative and a champion of the art being made in Japan during his lifetime. Highly layered and color-filled floral arrangements shown in this satsuma teapot are a staple of Yabu Meizan's renowned style. Densely spread from the lid to the base of the teapot are painted floral arrangements in a variety of warm tones, in addition to several accents of blues and greens. The breaking up of concentrated mark making shown in this teapot is also a recurring element in Meizan's work. Here, the spout and handle differ drastically in composition from the base of the teapot, but work harmoniously in their restraint of color and compactness. Finally, the paint dotted base of this Satsuma teapot brings allows for a calming element of diversity in style and feel to emerge amidst the clustered flowers shown throughout this teapot, and many of the teapots Meizan made during his career. Height: 5 in x width: 6 1/2 in.Height: 5 in x width: 6 1/2 in.