Pair of Vases
1875 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
An important feature of nineteenth-century Japanese decorative arts is the delight taken in using one material to imitate another. This is true not just of ceramics, as in the case of this pair of vases, but also of metalwork and, perhaps most notably, lacquerware. The 4th generation Takahashi Dohachi took over the running of the family workshop on the retirement of his father in 1874, the year before he made these vases. They were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should 'make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Stoneware with brown glaze |
| Brief description | Pair of vases, made by Takahashi Dohachi IV, Kyoto, 1875 |
| Physical description | Form and surface treatment imitate woven bamboo |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (On base)
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased from the Japanese Commissioners for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, accessioned in 1877. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Association | |
| Summary | An important feature of nineteenth-century Japanese decorative arts is the delight taken in using one material to imitate another. This is true not just of ceramics, as in the case of this pair of vases, but also of metalwork and, perhaps most notably, lacquerware. The 4th generation Takahashi Dohachi took over the running of the family workshop on the retirement of his father in 1874, the year before he made these vases. They were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should 'make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.' |
| Bibliographic reference | Augustus Wollaston Franks and M. Shioda, Japanese Pottery. [London]: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1880. South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks; 18.
Catalogue number 213 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 371&A-1877 |
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| Record created | October 30, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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