An Early 18th Century Japanese Porcelain Baluster Jar

An Early 18th Century Japanese Porcelain Baluster Jar, Arita kilns c.1700 – 1740. This unusually simple design is atypical of Japanese export porcelain for the European market, in that it is perhaps too plain for European tastes, it only depicts simple grasses and wild flowers, there aren’t even any borders. There are three groups of plants spread equidistant around the baluster form, a shape that would have had a domed cover with a finial. European garnitures of five ; three baluster jars and covers and two flared beaker vases were a shipped to Europe by the V.O.C. and other European trading companies. This could have been part of one of those consignments, however I purchased the present jar from someone in Japan. It could, of course, have found its way back to Japan but not necessarily. Jars of this shape can occasionally be found in Japanese collections where they are referred to as water jars.

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