Vintage · Made in Japan · one of one
Arita porcelain · by Shuho · vase and ashtray · 18 cm
Arita ware Shuho flower vase and ashtray set
A flower vase and a matching ashtray by the potter Shuho, both painted with a soft bird-and-flower design on Arita porcelain, in their original box.
$180 Free shipping to 32 countries
Order by December 8 to make sure it arrives before Christmas.
We ship to mainland China: free, tracked. Import duties, if any, are paid on delivery. Where we ship
A gift for a new home · a wedding · a collector · a new business
Leaves Fukuoka within three business days by EMS, with tracking.
Condition report
- Maker
- Shuho
- Condition
- vintage, pre-owned (sourced in Sapporo); the wooden box shows age, colour fading and marks from old tape
Want a closer look at a mark or an edge? Ask for more photographs.
The story: Arita wareRead the story →What buyers say · ★★★★★ on Etsy
“Received updates regarding the item I purchased and when it arrived could tell that it was packed with care; my fragile ceramic bunny arrived in perfect condition! A wonderful purchase and I would buy from this shop again”
Jessica · United States
1 more from buyers
“Item was as described and in photos shown. Excellent quality. Seller very knowledgable and took the time to explain everything”
Tiang N. · Australia
- Made in Japan. Made in Japan, found in Japan, and sent to you from Fukuoka.
- One of one. This exact piece, photographed in our studio in Fukuoka.
- Returns within 14 days of delivery. Not right? Send it back as it came and we refund the full price, return postage included.
- Packed safely, sent by EMS within three business days, fully insured, with tracking.
Duties, checkout and extras
- ★ 5.0 on Etsy · Star Seller. Read the reviews ↗
- Import tax. It depends on your country; if any is due, it is collected on delivery.
- US import duties. Already included in the price: nothing to pay at your door.
- Secure checkout by Stripe — cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay. No account needed.
- Two pieces, one parcel. Each extra piece in the same order is $15 off at checkout.
- Orders of $200 or more travel with a gift to keep: Japanese chopsticks with a rest in a paulownia box, or a Nara kaya-cloth handkerchief.
The story
In the 1590s, Japanese armies invaded Korea and came home with Korean potters, some taken by force. One of them, the story goes, was a man the Japanese called Ri Sampei. He searched the hills of Kyushu for the right kind of stone, and around 1616, at a place called Izumiyama near Arita, he found it: white porcelain stone, the first in Japan.
The town still honours him with a shrine on the hill. A painful start, and from it, Japanese porcelain.
The craft
Arita porcelain by Shuho, with a red seal mark on the base. The bird-and-flower theme, kachō-ga, is a classical subject of Japanese painting, a way of bringing the garden indoors. Both pieces are hand-painted.
Living with it
A single stem in the vase. The ashtray works as a dish for keys or rings by the door. If you like objects with a long story behind them, this set has one. A gift for someone with a Japanese garden, or one they dream of.
• Arita porcelain, overglaze bird-and-flower design (iro-e), hand-painted • With original box (tomobako) • Made in Japan
How it travels
Packed safely, insured in full
Every piece is packed by hand in Fukuoka, in its wooden box, inside a sturdy 3 mm corrugated carton, cushioned all round with air pillows so it cannot move. It travels with tracking all the way to your door: by EMS, insured for its full value, on orders of $100 or more, and by tracked airmail below that.
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A question about this piece — size, marks, condition? Ask the house, we answer within a day.