Spode Porcelain Japan Pattern Imari Vase, Pattern 1227, Regency
Circa 1808-1815

The vase is of tapering paneled baluster form, the shouldered body of flattened octagonal section rising to a waisted neck with a flared and gently lobed rim, and is applied at the shoulders with a pair of boldly modeled foliate scroll handles gilded overall, their lower terminals trailing down the angles of the body.

It is decorated in the Japan taste in underglaze cobalt blue with iron-red, salmon and green enamels and rich gilding: the two principal white-ground panels are painted with a bird in flight, its plumage worked in gilt scales with iron-red wing and tail feathers, swooping with a leafy stem in its beak among peonies and flowering branches, between narrow panels of gilt scrolling foliage reserved on the blue ground and broad shoulder lappets of iron-red and gilt flowering foliage. Around the foot runs a band of white quatrefoils in salmon squares, and the interior of the neck is painted with iron-red flower sprays around a gilt-edged rim.

The pattern is number 1227 in the Spode pattern books, one of the rich Japan patterns the factory produced in quantity in the years around 1810, and the vase is marked with the pattern number alone in red script. The Japan patterns, so called in the period, take their scheme of underglaze blue, iron-red and gold from the Japanese Imari export porcelains of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, filtered through the Regency taste for dense, glittering ornament; on bone china of this quality, with the gilding raised and burnished, they were among the most expensive productions of the Staffordshire potteries.

At ten inches high, the vase is well suited to a chimneypiece, a bookcase shelf or a side table, where its cobalt, iron-red and gold read strongly against dark wood or a painted paneled wall. It sits equally well alone or grouped with Chinese export and Japanese Imari porcelain in a cabinet arrangement.

Dimensions
Height: 10 inches (25.4 cm)
Width: 5 inches (12.7 cm)
Depth: 33/4 inches (9.5 cm)

Marks
Pattern number "1227" painted in red script on the base

Provenance
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge

Condition
Good.

References
Leonard Whiter, Spode: A History of the Family, Factory and Wares from 1733 to 1833 (London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1970), for the factory pattern books

Historical Context
Under Josiah Spode II the factory at Stoke-upon-Trent brought English bone china to maturity in the years around 1800, and its finely potted, brilliantly white body proved an ideal ground for the Japan patterns that became a Spode specialty. The firm enjoyed royal favor from the Prince of Wales's visit to the works in 1806, after which Spode was appointed potter to the Prince, and its London warehouse in Portugal Street supplied the fashionable trade. Ornamental vases in the Japan patterns, with their cobalt grounds, iron-red enamels and burnished gold, answered the Regency appetite for richness and remain among the most sought-after Spode productions of the period.

(Ref: NY11248-kmrx)


Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: Good condition

Origin:
United Kingdom

Creator:
Brand: Spode

Materials & Techniques:
Porcelain

Details:
What type of item is it? Vintage / Antique / Used
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; Good condition