A 'SATSUMA' CERAMIC BALUSTER VASE BY KINKŌZAN SŌBEI VIIJapan, Meiji period21,6 cm highFinely painted with polychrome enamels and diffused touches of gold, the vase has on the body a dense grid of bamboo stems on which insects of various kinds are naturalistically laid and large windows stand out with minute landscapes with figures, towards the base and on the shoulder floral grounds, to the centre of the base four-character mark 'KinkÅzan zÅ'.Provenance: Italian private collection.The mark on this vase, and the quality that distinguishes it, lead back to the activity of KinkÅzan SÅbei VII (1867-1927), ceramist in charge of a company based in Kyoto that specialized in the production of pieces mostly destined to the export to Europe and United States.