garlic-bulb vase

garlic-bulb vase , late 1800s, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: hirasa "tortoise shell" ware

Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 23.8 x 11.4 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 9 3/8 x 4 1/2 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.1599

Not on display

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Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

This vase combines a number of unusual design elements. First popular in ninth-century Song dynasty China and revived in late 19th-century Japan, the spotted decoration, known as bekkö or hirasa (tortoiseshell glaze), covers the object. The shape of the vase is even more archaic than the decoration. Bronze prototypes of garlic-bulb vases first appeared in China as early as the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 BCE–221 BCE). These may have been derived from even older prototypes first developed in the ancient Middle East. However, despite its ancient features, the vase is completely modern. It typifies the innovative ceramic creations of Japanese artists that were featured in World Fairs, which is where Mrs. Thayer likely purchased it.