237 - A blue-and-white "plum blossoms in moonlight" guanyin vase A guanyin vase decorated in the "night-plum" (yèméi) technique, in which plum blossoms are reserved in white against a ground of deep indigo blue. The effect — blossoms appearing to emerge from the darkness of a winter night — creates an atmosphere at once poetic and dramatic. The vase's elegant, tapering form, named after the bodhisattva Guanyin, complements the refinement of the decoration. H: 45.5cm Caliber: 22.5cm Wooden box Formerly in the collection of Ujiya, Nagoya

A blue-and-white "plum blossoms in moonlight" guanyin vase A guanyin vase decorated in the "night-plum" (yèméi) technique, in which plum blossoms are reserved in white against a ground of deep indigo blue. The effect — blossoms appearing to emerge from the darkness of a winter night — creates an atmosphere at once poetic and dramatic. The vase's elegant, tapering form, named after the bodhisattva Guanyin, complements the refinement of the decoration. H: 45.5cm Caliber: 22.5cm Wooden box Formerly in the collection of Ujiya, Nagoya Ujiya is one of Japan's most venerable long-established firms, tracing a history of some 270 years in Nagoya; the firm was formerly known as 'Ujikyū.' Originally a tea merchant based in Tahara, Uji, the firm relocated to Nagoya during the Kyōhō era (1716–1736) at the invitation of the Owari Tokugawa family, after the third-generation head, Saburōemon (also known by his art name Jionsai)—a disciple of Kakukakusai Gensō and renowned for his connoisseurship of tea utensils—distinguished himself in this field. From that point on, the firm dealt in tea utensils alongside tea itself. Successive heads bore the name Ujiya Saburōemon, though from the eighth generation onward, the name Ujiya Kyūbei was used instead. China, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi era (around 17th century)