A Pair of Japonisme Porcelain Moon Flask Vases Royal Worcester

A stunning pair of glazed porcelain vases by Royal Worcester dated 1878. In the form of moon flask and with the exotic imprinted pattern of "Japanesque" motifs. It was made during the height of Japonisme movement that stormed Europe as a result of the participation of the Japanese Meiji government in the World Fairs and Expositions. Historically, these designs inspired by the Japanese aesthetic reflected the obsession of all things Japanese at that time, but interestingly it also revealed the understanding and appreciation of the art of the far east in general from a western perspective, which often freely "grafted" elements from various cultures. The flat moon flask form was originally not Japanese, but Islamic, made popular by Chinese potters in Ming and Qing Dynasty. The blue underglaze decoration was done superbly using an imprint technique to create a montage of overlapping Japanese mandalas with auspicious patterns. On top of that background, vignettes of Japanese motifs were imposed in gilt and cobalt blue overglaze. Among many, scholar objects such as reading table, ikebana, fans, books take the center stage, plants associated with scholarly sentiment such as bamboos and plum flowers are also prominently featured. The ears and the bases were decorated in gilt archaic patterns. Underneath, the mark indicates the production year of 1878; and some old fragment of paper label remains.
For a similar Japonisme porcelain platter made by Royal Worcester in 1880, in the collection of Musee d'Orsay, see book Japonismes, Flammarion: Page 18, fig4.
The platter was exhibited in Meiji Splendeurs Du Japon Imperial, P173, Cat no. 142. The catalog accompanies the exhibition in Musee Guimet: "Le Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet consacre une exposition à l’ère Meiji à l’occasion de la commémoration du 150e anniversaire de la Restauration de Meiji, du 17 octobre au 14 janvier 2019."