A seldom found Japanese antique blue glazed ceramic hand lantern or oil lamp handcrafted in an attractive blue Satsuma like glaze depicting flowers and ducks.

Double Signed side and bottom and dating to the late Meiji period, late 19th century.

Dimensions: 7 inches high and 3 inches diameter.

Signed base.

This is the only example we have ever seen in ten years.

Provenance: Old western collection.

History of Satsuma wares:
Satsuma ware (??? Satsuma-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery originally from Satsuma Province, southern Kyushu. Today, it can be divided into two distinct categories: the original plain dark clay early Satsuma (??? Ko-Satsuma) made in Satsuma from around 1600, and the elaborately decorated export Satsuma (??? Kyo-Satsuma) ivory-bodied pieces which began to be produced in the nineteenth century in various Japanese cities. By adapting their gilded polychromatic enamel over glaze designs to appeal to the tastes of western consumers, manufacturers of the latter made Satsuma ware one of the most recognized and profitable export products of the Meiji period.