Otagiri Japan Ginger Jar Lidded Magnolia Hand Painted Porcelain Temple

The lid is why this is worth buying. Temple jars are sold lidless more often than not, because the finial is the highest point on the object and the first thing a shelf takes off. This one is complete, the gold on the knop is unworn, and the lid sits down into the gallery without rocking.  The painting is a single magnolia branch carried around one side, pink going to cream at the petal edges with the grey brown branch drawn in loose brush. Every one of these was painted by hand at speed, and you can see it in the confidence of the stem: one stroke, loaded at the start, dry at the finish. There is no under drawing.  The form is the classic baluster temple jar, the shape Chinese kilns shipped ginger in and Europe kept for the shape alone once the ginger was gone. Otagiri made them in Japan for the American market with exactly that history in mind.  Signed in gold on the base. It is the kind of object that looks correct on a bookshelf, a mantel or a bathroom counter, which is the whole reason the form has survived four hundred years.  Condition: Used. No chips, no cracks and no crazing found. Lid present, seats correctly, gold finial unworn. Hand painted decoration bright. Signed Otagiri Japan in gold on the base.  Ships from Baltimore via FedEx within the stated handling time. Flat rate shipping by size. Combined shipping on multiple items. Returns accepted for 30 days.  Ten percent of every sale goes to a nonprofit providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine.  Packaging is reused.