Japanese Souvenir Vase
Title
Japanese Souvenir Vase
Subject
Miscellaneous
Description
This is a very odd item in the collection, as we were able to identify it as Japanese due to the style of paint and enameling. Specifically, it is a "satsuma moriage" vase. Satsuma refers to the region the type of pottery originated in, and moriage is the term for the raised enamel decoration style.
Its small size, low quality, and the fact it was found in Atlanta indicates that it was most likely a souvenir or an export from the 20th century. We were able to find a near-identical intact vase listed on ebay. It is difficult to date the vase since it has no markings. Antique forums indicated that similar small, crudely-painted vases were likely from the 1930s-40s, the interwar period. User "Ce BCA" on antiquers.com noted about a similarly painted vase, "Very unlikely to be by a noted artist nor exhibited in a museum, it is typical of factory produced items when the Japanese economy was in trouble in the inter-war period." (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/mystery-vase.63462/#post-4254461)
Its small size, low quality, and the fact it was found in Atlanta indicates that it was most likely a souvenir or an export from the 20th century. We were able to find a near-identical intact vase listed on ebay. It is difficult to date the vase since it has no markings. Antique forums indicated that similar small, crudely-painted vases were likely from the 1930s-40s, the interwar period. User "Ce BCA" on antiquers.com noted about a similarly painted vase, "Very unlikely to be by a noted artist nor exhibited in a museum, it is typical of factory produced items when the Japanese economy was in trouble in the inter-war period." (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/mystery-vase.63462/#post-4254461)
Source
https://www.ebay.com/itm/363068577462
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/mystery-vase.63462/#post-4254461
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/mystery-vase.63462/#post-4254461
Publisher
Phoenix Project
Date
1930s-40s
Contributor
Emmett Cantkier
Format
Weight: 80g
Dimensions: 76mm x 52mm x 43mm
Dimensions: 76mm x 52mm x 43mm
Type
Stoneware
Ceramic
Identifier
a100 / ACC 133
Coverage
9Da89
Collection
Citation
“Japanese Souvenir Vase,” The Phoenix Project , accessed October 2, 2026, https://martaphoenixproject.gsuanthropology.com/items/show/112.
