Antique 1700-1720 Japanese Porcelain Imari Edo Garniture Vase Flowers Shishi

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Condition Report: Vase with lid as good as perfect, 1 small firing flaw to lid. Vase 2 perfect, Vase 3 restoration to neck and lower body. Size: 20 and 26CM high

Nice & Beautiful Arita Japanese Porcelain Garniture consisting of 3 vases, 1 with a lid.
The painting quality and shape are of really high quality. There is a similar garniture consisting of 5 pieces pictured and described in Fine & Curious by Jorg, see pictures. It’s in the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands:
https://collectie.groningermuseum.nl/collectie-items/highlight/34082
The composition and shape of this garniture is unusual, the covered vase taking the place of usual covered jar, while the double-globular shape is derived from a double-gourd.

A garniture is a decorative set of vases, jars, or similar vessels intended to be displayed together, often on mantels, cabinets, or sideboards. In European collecting traditions (17th–18th century especially), garnitures often consisted of five pieces — typically a central large vase or covered jar, flanked symmetrically by pairs of smaller ones.

That said:

• Five pieces became the most common arrangement (especially in Dutch and French interiors where Japanese and Chinese porcelain were prized).

• But garnitures can also be made up of three, seven, or other numbers depending on the commission, the display space, or the set that survived.

• In Japanese porcelain production itself (Arita, Imari, Kakiemon), vases and jars were often exported singly or in pairs; it was European demand that encouraged assembling them into garnitures.

So, a Japanese porcelain garniture does not always consist of 5 pieces.

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