Covered Vase with Figural Medallions and Floral Designs

This vase highlights the cultural exchanges and intertwining inspirations found in the arts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Japan and Europe. The vase's basic shape is a sharply-shouldered form deriving the ancient Greek lekythos, used for storing olive oil. This small Japanese vase is an example of Satsuma ware, earthenware elaborately decorated with overglaze enamels and made for export to Europe and North America. The style matched Western tastes for ornate, gilded decorative arts, but also catered to the Japan Craze of the period by including scenes of Japanese places and people.