Blue and White Japanese Vase

A couple weeks ago my boyfriend and I were walking home from lunch on a Saturday afternoon in SF's Marina district. We saw an open garage FULL of stuff, so we decided to take a quick peek. This garage was not organized by any means. We were climbing over chairs, moving dusty objects, looking for hidden treasures. As we were walking out, this little vase caught my eye. I grew up in a house with lots of blue and white porcelain, so it is in my blood to be attracted to something like this.

The guy said he would sell it to me for $10, and that was all the cash we had. I tried to get him to go a little bit lower but he said this vase was from the Gump estate, so it could be worth something. He really didn't know because he was just getting rid of this stuff for his friends.

The Gump family has a long standing history in SF. They founded a luxury home furnishing and decor department store back in 1861 named Gump's. It is still around and sells the most beautiful items, many of which come from Asia.

For $10 I took this vase home, and I love seeing it in my bedroom everyday! If anybody knows anything else about this vase, please share. It has no markings as the photos show and I think it is Japanese, but that is just a guess.