10446 A pair of Japanese Arita blue and white porcelain octagonal vases and covers, the lids with reserved panels of flowers and birds with a tall finial, the body decorated with a continuous scene of ‘carp in the waterfall’, the shoulders with hares in cloud bands, the base with lappet design, on a raised, turned foot rim. Both covers restored, one final replaced, one vase with a restored body crack.
Japanese, Arita
1700
Height: 19.25 ins (49 cms)
SOLD
Description
The bodies of this fine pair of vases and covers are decorated with leaping carp in waterfalls, a popular theme in Japanese decorative arts.
The origin of this design is in Chinese mythology where resolute carp would fight their way up a very steep waterfall and swim into the Dragons Gate, immediately transforming into dragons, a reward bestowed on the valiant fish by the Emperor. This visual metaphor for the rewards of success in the face of adversity was popular in Japanese painting and also in the decorative arts, though is it unlikely that the metaphor was understood in the European markets of Holland and England of the late 17th or early 18th century when these vases were first imported.
On these vases, the carp are shown in two different stages of their ascent and surrounded by bamboo, gnarled pine trees and cloudbands.
