A monumental bronze bottle vase

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan entered into industrial competition with the Western nations and applied traditional technology to works of art for export. Pieces such as this bottle vase were made for exhibition in Europe and America, where they won great acclaim. Bronze-casters from all over Japan responded magnificently to the challenge, adapting the existing traditions of bronze manufacture for temple fittings and flower containers to produce an impressive range of outsize exhibition pieces that combine exaggerated features borrowed from early Chinese work with a wealth of exotic decoration.