From An impeccable American Provenance:
Estate of Otis Elevator Family Descendant Elisha Graves Otis

Japanese pair (2) , 19th century Meiji period Imari Arita Yaki blue and white porcelain palace scale vases hand painted in cobalt under glaze in an ovoid form of prolific and highly detailed “landscapes, lanterns, karakusa, and waves” patterns.

The tapered bodies rising to knopped, cylindrical necks with undulating, everted mouths decorated in underglaze blue with rondels and rectangles of garden landscapes and garden lanterns above a lower field of waves. The top neck portions with auspicious floral rondels on a classic karakusa (winding plant) ground.

Unusual and seldom found hand painted garden lanterns encircled by mountains and clouds are prominent on the upper reaches of neck exterior décor; a large band of clouds and churning waves outlined in cobalt blue compliment and decorate the bases. Additionally, auspicious symbols including cobalt leaves, large twelve petaled chrysanthemum flowers among karakusa , bamboo, and large diameter multi floral rondels finish the fine artistic quality of these extraordinary vases. Inside the top undulated rims one can take visual pleasure from more hand painted floral rondels and bamboo patterned hand paintings.

Quality: Fine condition with traces of old black lacquer around top edges. No repairs.

Dimensions: 61 inches high and 20 inches diameter at top and 20 inches diameter at mid waist. The bottom measures 10 inches diameter. Each vase hand made in two sections.

Only one pair.

American Provenance: Otis Elevator Family, Elisha Graves Otis

Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our Asian works of art come with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee.

We have been dealing in authentic Japanese antiques, fine art, garden ornaments, lanterns and water basins for 25 years. Our president travels to Europe and Japan to meet his network partners who assist him in finding best Asian examples. He personally inspects each antique work of art to ensure its old age, authenticity, and quality condition.

About Arita Wares
Arita ware is a name given for Japanese porcelain made in the area around the town of Arita, Hizen Province, northwestern Kyushu island. This was the area where most early Japanese porcelain including export porcelain, was crafted. Arita wares were traditionally export wares in blue and white often copying Chinese styles. Wares with added overglaze colours were called Imari ware. It is now recognized that the same kilns often made more than one of these types, and “Arita ware” is more often used as a term for all of them. According to historic tradition, the Korean 17th century potter Yi Sam-pyeong or Kanagae Sanbee is often considered the father of Arita ware porcelain.

Brief Founding History Otis Elevator Company
In 1852, Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator, which automatically comes to a halt if the hoisting rope breaks. After a demonstration at the 1853 New York World’s Fair, the elevator industry established credibility.
Otis elevator in Glasgow, Scotland, imported from the U.S. in 1856 for Gardner’s Warehouse, the oldest cast-iron fronted building in the British Isles. The Otis Elevator Company was founded in Yonkers, New York, in 1853 by Elisha Otis. When Elisha died in 1861, his sons Charles and Norton formed a partnership and continued the business. During the American Civil War, their elevators were in high demand due to the shipment of war materials. Businesses throughout the United States purchased them. In 1864, with the partnership of J.M. Alvord, the company became known as Otis Brothers & Co. In 1867, Otis opened a factory in Yonkers, New York, the city where the company was founded. In 1925, the world’s first fully automatic elevator, Collective Control, was introduced. In 1931, the company installed the world’s first double-deck elevator in New York City. Otis opened a factory in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1965 and continues this day headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut.