Arita Porcelain Jar Vase, Sometsuke Cobalt Sumi-e Brushwork, Signed [Potter Name], Japan

INK PAINTING, FIRED INTO PORCELAIN

Tall strokes of cobalt blue sweep up the sides of this round white vase, thick and dark where the brush pressed, pale where it lifted, overlapping into a mountain-like rhythm. It is the language of sumi-e ink painting, written in blue on porcelain. A band of blue circles the lip, and turning it over you find a single hand-painted cobalt character on the base. This is a Japanese-style sometsuke jar vase for the shelf, a table or a single branch.

QUICK FACTS
• Type: porcelain jar vase / bud vase, no lid
• Technique: underglaze cobalt-blue painting (染付, sometsuke), with fast brush strokes in a sumi-e style
• Body: hard white porcelain under a clear glossy glaze; interior pale grey-green
• Decoration: bold overlapping cobalt brush strokes, a blue band around the lip
• Base: unglazed foot ring, glazed well, a cobalt-painted cursive character and a dot 
• Origin: Japan 

WHAT IS SOMETSUKE?
Sometsuke (染付) is blue-and-white porcelain: cobalt blue (呉須, gosu) painted onto the white body before a clear glaze is applied and the vase is fired. In Arita, the first Japanese porcelain kilns, the contrast of white body and indigo blue has been compared to an ink painting. The clay in Arita is low in iron, which gives a very pure white body.

THE BRUSHWORK
On this vase the strokes are broad and fast, the blue shifting from deep indigo to pale wash within a single stroke. Where strokes overlap, the colour deepens. It reads as modern and expressive rather than traditional pattern work, in the spirit of sumi-e.

THE BASE
The base carries a single cursive character in cobalt blue and a dot. Porcelain from the Hizen region (Arita and its neighbours) has long carried hand-painted marks inside the foot, from lucky characters to potters' marks, but marks of this kind also appear on porcelain from other regions. We have not read the character and do not claim a maker or kiln.

A WORD ON THE IRON-BROWN LINE
A thin orange-brown line follows the edge of the glaze on the base. Iron in the body or glaze often shows up this way where the glaze thins, in porcelain of any age, so we do not treat it as proof of age.

DISPLAY NOTE
Sold as a decorative vase. For flowers, check for hairlines before adding water, and wipe with a soft damp cloth. We do not recommend using it for food or drink.

CONDITION AND AUTHENTICITY
Sold as a Japanese-style hand-painted porcelain vase, [maker, origin and age unconfirmed]. No documents come with this vase. Please review all photos and ask any question before buying.

SHIPPING
Packed in double-boxed protection with foam and paper cushioning. Ships worldwide with tracking. Duties and taxes may apply on arrival.