Vase

A porcelain vase with an ovoid body and tall wide neck, decorated with stems of peony painted in yellow and white enamel with coral coloured details on a coral ground. It is particularly rare to find a work actually signed by Miyagawa Hannosuke (Hanzan, later Makuzu Kozan II). The style of this piece has been an important element in our suggestion of the attribution to Hanzan of the new sophisticated style that appears in the Kozan worshop in the 1890s. This is typical of the mid-Meiji movement towards more open styles of decoration in all the decorative arts. It nevertheless remains unclear why some pieces were exhibited under Hanzan's own name and some under the full company name of Makuzu Kozan.