A pair of large relief-moulded earthenware vases

Miyagawa Kozan I (1842-1916) was born into a family of potters in Kyoto. In 1871, shortly after the restoration of imperial rule, he set up a pottery works in Yokohama, and during Japan's rapid industrialization catered to changing tastes and markets. He was successful as an exporter of Satsuma-type earthenware, including idiosyncratic pieces, such as the vases here, with applied realistic modelling of birds and animals in response to Western demand. Kozan won many awards in both international and Japanese national expositions, earning his atelier a reputation for quality innovation that is undimmed. In 1896 he was appointed an Artist to the Imperial Household, continuing to work actively for another twenty years.

This pair of vases is very similar to a single jar in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (access https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O229720/vase-and-lid/). Only slightly smaller at 40.6 cm, the V & A jar is moulded with eagles and bears and is signed with three names in three gourd cartouches above the base.