A Rare 17th Century Japanese Bottle Vase in the Chinese Taste, Arita Kilns c.1640-1650. This elegant early Arita vase is clearly Japanese, however the design and form show strong Chinese influences from the late Ming dynasty period. It is painted in under-glaze cobalt blue using a range of different tones. The enamel decoration is limited in colour pallete to a pale soft green, a strange almost metallic brown which might be emulating Chinese aubergine enamel, there is a reddish flat colour based on iron oxide, and a sparing use of black outlines. The scene with a figure looking at a waterfall is similar to Chinese porcelain images taken from wood-block prints. Japanese vases of this period are rare, fine quality pieces like the present example are rarer still. If you look at the Photograph Gallery below, you can see a detail of an unfinished bird in flight. It is in cobalt blue outline with the head facing right, it would be more recognisable if the enamel painter had been a bit more diligent.   See Below For More Photographs and Information