Rare and Antique Japanese Porcelain Vases

I just love the 26-inch high Japanese pear-shaped ceramic vase shown above. Even if it was in a solid color the vase with a ruffled edge and flared bottom would be stunning. But when you add the Japanese painting depicting 19th Century court life, it becomes all the more special. The message here is not to be afraid of incorporating rich designs into your home decor. If you love it, then I guarantee that everyone else will enjoy seeing it in your home. This ceramic vase is tall enough to be placed beside your fireplace hearth or in a corner in your foyer. You can make it even more spectacular by placing tall and extravagant dried flowers in it. You'll be amazed at the Japanese vases that you can add to your home.

Japanese Arita vases come from a the Japanese city of Arita. Many were exported from the Japanese to Eurpoe from the port of Imari. So you may well see these vases referred to as both Arita vases and Imari vases. You'll find many of these for sale on ebay. Take a look at the Current Bids to the right and you'll also see that they sell in a reasonable price range.

I buy beautiful ceramic vases to use. Porcelain vases with lids are some of my most favorite home accessories. They come in very handy in the kitchen for storing herbs. In fact I think that many of them were used for this purpose in Japan, because I see many of them called ginger pots or ginger jars.

I'm an artist and I have lots of small art supplies. I love having exotic storage solutions. They look so much nicer than a bunch of plastic storage bins. The true upside is that when they are empty, I have no desire or need to hide them away. They just sit there looking beautiful until the next time I need to group some small objects. The lidded vase shown above is about 8 inches high and 5 inches wide. It's the perfect size to stash some buttons in or toss in some elastics. Beautiful objects can be a creative inspiration. But sometimes I just stare at them and wonder about the artisan that created them so many hundreds of years ago. I hope that there is a way for them to know how much I enjoy and appreciate their work. Of course I don't speak Japanese, so there would have to be truly some divine intervention occurring for them to understand me!

The originality and diversity of Japanese ceramic porcelain always amazes me. I just love the way the craftsman mixed the textures and colors in the ceramic vase above. The cool white porcelain weave pattern is modern beyond its centuries, while the blue and white floral is truly traditional. The true excitement of shopping on ebay is that you just never know what gem you'll find.

The fact is that I just love shopping high-quality estate sales. But I live in rural Maine, often hundreds of miles away from them. The more grown-up I become, the busier my days, and there just isn't the time (or the gas budget) to get to them. One day I learned that many estates are placing their objects on ebay to find a wider market. This truly made my day. Now I can sit on the porch and hunt for fabulously rare Japanese ceramic vases. If you're not comfortable doing this, please remember that there must be a reason that ebay is one of the most popular and trusted commercial websites in the world. You can look at every seller's Positive Feedback Rating and see how they've treated buyers before you. There are even comments that give you a great idea of the customer service.