Vintage Japanese Signed Studio Pottery Vase, Blue Olive Drip Glaze, Meiping Shape, Rough Stoneware Foot

FLOWING GLAZE, A SIGNED FOOT

Blue pools in the shoulders, olive and ochre settle toward the base, and the glaze breaks into soft feathery streaks where the kiln moved it. Turn the vase over and you will find the potter's incised mark in cursive Japanese script, ending in 作 (saku, "made by"). This is a vintage Japanese bottle vase in a meiping-style (梅瓶) silhouette, made for a single branch or a few stems.

QUICK FACTS
• Type: Japanese flower vase / bottle vase (花入, hanaire)
• Form: shouldered meiping-style body, narrow mouth with rolled lip
• Glaze: glossy flowing glaze in blue, olive and ochre, with kiln-transformation effects (窯変, yōhen)
• Body: rough, speckled dark stoneware visible on the unglazed foot
• Signature: hand-incised on the base, cursive script, ending in 作 (saku) [artist name: pending / unconfirmed]
• Kiln / region: [undetermined]
• Age: vintage, [estimate, only if supported]
• Condition: [describe lip, glaze, base, chips, repairs]

WHAT IS YŌHEN?
Yōhen (窯変) means "kiln transformation": color effects that appear in the firing and cannot be fully controlled by the potter. Japanese museums catalog 20th-century studio vases under this word, for example works by Itaya Hazan (1872–1963). On this vase, the glaze runs and layers into blue-green, olive and ochre fields, so no two pieces look alike.

THE SIGNATURE
The mark on the base was cut by hand into the clay body before firing. Studio potters in Japan commonly sign this way, and it is a starting point for tracing a maker. We have not yet confirmed the artist's name, and we do not want to guess. [If later confirmed: add name, reading, and source.]

FORM AND USE
The meiping-style bottle shape is a long-standing form in East Asian ceramics, valued for its balance of wide shoulders and a narrow neck. In Japanese flower arrangement (ikebana), a small mouth supports a single branch, a few stems of grass or a sprig of berries.

DISPLAY AND USE
Use a glass or plastic liner for water. Wipe the glaze with a soft damp cloth. Avoid abrasive pads. The foot is unglazed and may mark delicate wood, so place a felt pad underneath.

CONDITION AND AUTHENTICITY
Sold as a vintage Japanese signed pottery vase, [artist: unconfirmed / name: ___]. Natural glaze runs, pinholes and speckles in the clay body are part of the character. Please review all photos and ask any question before buying.