Two Hirado blue-and-white vessels


Edo (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), probably mid-late 19th centuryEach painted in underglaze blue, the first a box and cover in the form of an overlapping circle and square depicting thatched dwellings nestled at the foot of mountainous landscape, surmounted by a finial in the form a cockerel and hen, 10.1cm x 13.2cm (4in x 5 1/8in); the second in the form of a handled tripod jue (a Chinese ritual wine vessel) decorated with two confronting mythological beast heads interwoven among a band of repeated square patterns; 8.3cm x 14cm (3¼in x 5½in). (3).