*SHIPPING OPTIONS VARY DEPENDING ON THE DESTINATION, PLEASE SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS LISTING FOR MORE DETAILS.

This listing is for an Arita-ware Nabeshima sometsuke bottle vase made around 43 years ago by Kousen Gama.  It is made of porcelain and decorated with birds and seasonal flowers.  The flowers consist of cobalt underglaze depictions of ume, peonies and chrysanthemums.  The opening is wide enough to accommodate only a few short stemmed flowers.   The signature of the kiln can be found on the bottom, and it comes with its original signed wooden storage box.  There’s also a printed paper in the box from the company president of a large firm here in Japan.  The paper is a message of gratitude upon the company’s 30^th anniversary.  It is dated November 30, 1980. 

Arita-ware refers to porcelain produced in the town of Arita in the southern island of Kyushu. In 1616 a Korean potter named Ri Sanpei discovered kaolin at Mt. Izumiyama, thus resulting in the birth of Japanese porcelain. Arita-ware is sometimes referred to as Imari-ware, and this is because export wares were shipped from the nearby port in Imari town. Edo period Arita-ware is generally classified into three groups; Ko-Imari (Early Imari), Kinrande (gold painted porcelain), and Kakiemon (elegant motifs of birds, animals and flowers). Another special, high quality porcelain known as Nabeshima (featuring woven/textile patterns) was also produced and given as gifts to the Imperial court and ruling class. To this day Arita remains at the centre of porcelain production in Japan.

Nabeshima Sometsuke is a technique where blue cobalt oxide underglaze is painted onto white porcelain, and then a clear glaze is applied over the top. It first appeared in China during the Yuan period and eventually made its way to Arita in the very early 1600s. Traditionally this technique was done by hand but these days a lot of production potters prefer to use stencilling or transfer-printing.                                                             

Sizes

Box:  H.12.8cm (5”) x 16.8cm (6.6”) x 12.5cm (4.9”)

Bottle:  H.14cm (5.5”) x 10cm (3.9”) across x 3.6cm (1.4”) diameter rim                                 

Condition

It’s in very good condition with no chips or cracks.                                                               

THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION                                                                 

**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia:  NO SHIPPING.  Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries.  We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process. 

**USA:  Airmail (approx. 15-28 days).  Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for Airmail or EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive.  If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports). Inexpensive Airmail Small Packet option unavailable.

**UK and Canada:  EMS Express (approx. 7-15 days).  Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive.  If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports). Inexpensive Airmail Small Packet and regular Airmail is currently unavailable.

**Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway: Airmail ePacket (approx. 15-28 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail ePacket (please send us a message).

**Asia:  Airmail ePacket (approx. 15-21 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail ePacket (please send us a message).

**Russia:  No shipping methods available.