AN IRON-RED DECORATED ‘PROCESSION OF THE DAIMYO’ BALUSTER PORCELAIN VASE BY THE STUDIO OF MAKUZU KOZAN JAPAN, MEIJI PERIOD Resting on a short ring foot, with a waisted base and a globular body surmounted by a long tubular neck with a slightly everted rim. Finely painted in deliberately ‘faded’ iron red design depicting an interesting procession of insects. The base is inscribed in cobalt blue with a mark in Japanese script reading ‘Makuzu-gama Kozan Sei’. H: 20,7 cm Notes: 1. Miyagawa Toranosuke, birth name of Makuzu Kōzan 宮川香山 (1842-1916) was of the major potters of the Meiji period appointed artist to the Japanese Imperial household. He won prizes at fifty-one (51) exhibitions. 2. The design may have been made after an oshi-e panel – i.e. a tradition Japanese craft of folded silk over stiff paper cuttings, puffed up with stuffed cotton – by the artist Sakurai Seppo (1753-1824) currently preserved at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Canada, under accession number SeP.15.01. It is a parody of a procession of the daimyo, i.e. a the regional and feudal warrior lords. Those approximately two hundred and fifty (250) lords were required to spend alternate years in the shogun court in the capital Edo, thus the roads to Edo were often the sigh of formidable pageants. The original piece of art depicts forty-two (42) insects in total, either grasshoppers, wasps and mantises – bearing flowers and fruits over their stiff limbs, banners and even a palanquin. NOTE: CONDITION REPORTS AND MEASUREMENTS It is up to the bidder to satisfy themselves prior to buying as to the condition of a lot. In relation to Condition Reports, whilst we make certain observations on the lot, which are intended to be as helpful as possible, references in the condition report to damage or restoration are for guidance. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. The condition report is an expression of opinion only and must not be treated as a statement of fact. Measurements and weight are approximate and the potential bidder may re-ask it to be checked when asking for a condition report.