Antique Japanese Arita Imari Dragon Vase Zoshuntei Sanpo Mark 36cm Edo Meiji

A striking 19th-century Japanese Arita porcelain vase of tall baluster form, the body encircled by a boldly modelled white dragon in high relief, its coils winding up around the shoulder and neck. The ground is painted in the Imari palette with iron-red scrolling foliage and diaper patterning, reserved with shaped cartouches of flowers, foliage and lattice in underglaze blue, green, pink and gilt, over a blue-and-white foot band.

The base carries the six-character iron-red mark 蔵春亭三保造 – Zoshuntei Sanpo zo (‘made by Zoshuntei Sanpo’). This is the trade mark of the Arita merchant Hisatomi Yojibei, who exported Hizen porcelain to the West from the 1840s onward, and the mark is recorded in Bowes’ Japanese Marks and Seals (1882). Pieces bearing this mark date from the late Edo to early Meiji period, broadly mid-19th century.

Relief-moulded dragon vases with this mark were made for export and are now sought after; comparable examples are held in museum collections. The dragon on this example is well modelled with scaly body, clawed feet and a characterful head, and the decoration beneath is dense and carefully executed.

Size: approximately 36cm high.

Condition: please study the photographs closely. The base shows several cracks running across the glazed underside and small chips to the unglazed foot rim; these are shown clearly in the last image. The dragon and body decoration present well with the expected light rubbing to the gilt and enamels. Sold as seen and priced to reflect the condition – an impressive decorative piece with a desirable mark.

Dispatch and packing. Sent from the UK, carefully packed. International buyers welcome – postage is calculated at checkout.