Posted 9 years ago
mikelv85
(1232 items)
This was almost the one that got away. I saw it last week at Volunteer's of America and except for the metal basket weave I didn't think too much of it, so I put it back on the shelf. Flash forward to this morning and there it sat. I looked at it again and thought well I didn't find anything else and it was only three dollars. It's not marked and the bottom looked really new so I wasn't expecting what I've been seeing online. These Meiji art pottery pieces encased in silver plate basket weave are going for hundreds and thousands depending on their size. The large 11" ones bring the big bucks. This is just a tad under 8" but still I'm seeing hundreds for this size. Dating these seems to be a problem as the Meiji period ended in 1912 and some of the auction houses are saying they're from 1920 which technically no longer makes them from the Meiji period. First hunches are usually correct and I almost made an expensive mistake....Whew ! -Mike-
Here's an Ebay listing for a blue 8" vase :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Meiji-Art-Pottery-Vase-with-Silver-Basket-Weave-Overlay-c-1920-/151733880108
Here's a large 11" one in the mauve color:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Meiji-art-vase-with-silver-plate-weave-overlay-ca-1920-FREE-SHIP-/191726
Oh Yikes, Mike, glad you took a flyer on this one!! FWIW, I would have passed it up, too! :( Great find! :)
Thanks Katherine....and how...I'm still shaking my head as to why my all seeing eye let me down...lol.
Oooer, enjoy your windfall :)
Thanks Sklo...quite a surprise I must say :)
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Japanese-Meiji-art-vase-with-silver-plate-weave-overlay-ca-1920-FREE-SHIP-/191726917089?hash=item2ca3d095e1
Get it checked out in person by someone who knows Asian ceramics to make sure yours isn't a copy.
That's a possibility but the silver has a nice patina and it protected the base from wear. If it's copy it's a good one. I can't see much visible difference between this and the ones online. They are not all marked Japan. Asian porcelain and pottery can be very old and still look like it was made yesterday. That makes it tough to ID without a trained eye.
Thanks Ken :)....the collecting gods were smiling on me today. It's a miracle it was still there after four days !
It's a beautiful pot - I hope it's the Real McCoy!
Congratulations Mike. I have to say I would have passed over it too, but closer inspection does show lots of merit. I didn't even know they put this metal-wear on their vases. Is it a take on their bamboo cages?
What a steal for you Mike! I love the silver overlay! It's as if the vase were sitting in a cage!
Thanks Karen :)....I've actually never seen these before either. Bamboo basket work yes but not the silver. There's also one example online that's done with brass. They all have bamboo detail in the wire work though. I think it was the whiteness of the bottom and the folk art like painting that threw me. Although the scrolling work on the sides is quite nice. The same large flower appears on both sides of the vase. Just looked contemporary to me. After seeing the others online the decoration is very free form and bold not intricate and detailed like fine porcelain.
Thank you Rick :)...I think the cage serves a practical purpose too. No cracks or chips to the rim or bottom. It's well protected. Plus it's a heavy pottery as opposed to porcelain so it's pretty sturdy.
As a Vase, it's unique and a beauty. My evaluation on anything I see is not based on what people ask for them but on what people are getting for them. If you look at the listings in the link, some people are asking a fraction of what others are asking and I wonder if they will even get a bid. It's a fact of life with the Antique business these days everywhere. RER
Thanks Bob for the nice comment :)...Oh I totally agree . My 18th century Chinese export punch bowl was appraised at $1500 and sold for only $250 after sitting in Lark Mason's (from Antiques Roadshow) auction house in New York for almost a year. I kept cutting the reserve hoping for more bids and I got hosed. I not a fan of online auctions but it was Lark Mason for pete sake...lol. I've learned it's what the market will pay not so much what it's worth. That's why I rarely sell anything I find. It never seems to realize it's potential if I do. So I just enjoy it myself and maybe someday I'll part with it for the right price.
Mike - I sell alot of what I have - mostly jewelry and glass - on a local internet site here in Europe. Since I pay a pittance for nearly all my things, I manage to make a nice profit on sold items. It's all Fun Money for me, anyhow. I do feel your pain, though!
Wooooooooo! That's a beautiful catch :-D
3$... you lost nothing on the bet!
Thanks Bonnie (I like that better than efes ) and Kyra :)...well that's the fun part when you find pieces that have value and pay almost nothing for them. Sometimes it's a surprise like this vase and other times I know exactly what I'm buying and it's value. It's all about the hunt...when I get it home and the thrill is gone, it goes on the pile with the rest of the stuff...lol...it's an organized pile however :)
Thanks for the links and all the info Lisa :)..... This piece was a nice surprise considering I passed it up the first time. Aspire Auctions is right here in Cleveland. About 30 miles from were I live. I had them take a look at my Robert Lawson abstract waaaay back when I first started posting on CW. I always keep them in the back of my mind just in case I want to part with any of my treasures. I could easily take things there with no shipping and insurance involved. Still ever since my 18th century Chinese hunt scene punch bowl tanked at Lark Mason's gallery in New York. I'm not big on selling. Appraised for thousands and sold for a couple hundred and it took almost a year of online re-listings. I think it would have most definitely fared better at a live auction. If I had wanted that result I would have posted it on Ebay. Oh well live and learn. Value is always nice bonus but it's sometimes hard to realize any of these prices in today's market. -Mike-
Hi Mike, I found one of these today. Solid black but pretty rough. Did you ever get any more info on yours?
Hi One .....well not really. I'm fairly sure it is Meiji or early Showa period so probably no later than the 1920's. I had my friend who's a retired Asian language professor at the college look at it. He's also a collector and appraiser and he said it was beautiful and had never actually seen one before. I'm learning a lot from him. :)
Thanks for the "love" Faith k. :)