r/u_Antique-collectorlo

(A quick note before you read: I know my posts are exceptionally long, especially this one. It took me a while to write this one. Some people on Reddit get used to short post. Thus, they sometimes mistake me for an AI bot! I promise I am very much a human collector. Antique collecting is purely my personal passion, not my profession. However, my unique approach comes from my 40-year career as a scientific researcher. I naturally treat my hobby like a research project—interviewing art experts, taking meticulous notes, and even speaking directly with artists and specialists to truly understand the authenticity, techniques, culture, and history behind each piece. Thank you for your patience with my academic writing style!)

Hello everyone!

After sharing Totai cloisonné, my teapots, and my vanity boxes over the last three posts, today I want to bring everything full circle. This is my 36th featured collection post here on Reddit, and it is dedicated to the very object that started it all: the Japanese cloisonné vase.

As some of you know from my previous stories, my wife and I have been collecting Japanese cloisonné for exactly 34 years. Long before a broken-down car led me to Totai teapots 28 years ago, our entire lifelong obsession was sparked by a single Japanese cloisonné vase (Picture 2) we spotted in an antique shop. That was 34 years ago. The absolute beauty, precision, and artistry of that single piece sparked a lifelong passion. Over the last three decades, that initial spark has led us to curate a collection of more than 40 pieces, spanning various sizes, shapes, materials, colors, and functions.

As a regular collector, I quickly run into a very realistic issue: display space, whuch every collector faces. During the first few years, I collected mostly large items, especially porcelain and ceramic pieces. We quickly realized our shelves were running out of room! To balance things out, I intentionally shifted my focus to small and miniature items in the later stages of my collecting journey.

I discovered that miniature items are incredibly rewarding to collect. Whether it is antique coins, hooks, buckles, tsatsas, miniature Thangkas, or small cloisonné, they require very little storage space. Yet, they share the exact same high-level craftsmanship as larger pieces—and are often even harder to make because of their minute scale.

Looking back at my early days of collecting, you can see I had a sense that space might eventually run into an issue. You can see that my set collections always contain the miniature ones.

Today, our cloisonné vase collection stands at "11" pieces—including one "incredible new addition" I acquired just a few days ago. You will notice I intentionally put quotation marks around "11" and "incredible new addition." This is because the last one I bought is actually a fake wireless cloisonné vase. I only have 10 real ones.

In my last post, I mentioned that in order to complete my collection loop, I was looking for a piece of wireless cloisonné. The search for a wireless piece led to a funny (and slightly disappointing) collecting story. I saw a vase on eBay listed simply as "cloisonné" that looked exactly like wireless work. Since I had never owned a piece before, it was hard to confirm from the pictures alone. I even asked an AI tool, which assured me it was wireless cloisonné! Excited by the great price, I bought it immediately. When it arrived, I discovered it wasn't cloisonné at all—it was a porcelain vase painted to look like it. It was a classic collecting misstep, but those little surprises and learning moments are all part of the fun of the journey.

From Picture 1, can you spot the fake wireless cloisonné?

When you see the vase in Picture 12, are you surprised that both I and the AI were tricked by the photo? Many sellers list these types of porcelain vases as cloisonné vases. The AI could not recognize it correctly because the information presented to it was wrong. I was wrong because I had never seen one before, and the seller listed it as a cloisonné vase. What pushed me to buy it even more was that the price was listed as very good. In order to get it, I raised my price three times.

At first glance, it perfectly mimics the distinct aesthetic of wireless cloisonné (Musen Shippo) popularized by famous workshops like the Ando Cloisonné Company. The soft, gradient shading of the green background fading to white at the neck, combined with the seamless, borderless execution of the pink roses, is an exact visual match for masterwork enamel pieces.

The Mystery Solved: Tajimi Shippo Ceramics

What the AI and I stumbled upon is a highly deceptive style of mid-century Japanese art porcelain. Many of these items were produced by companies like Tajimi, Fuji Shippo, or similar creators out of Nagoya.

While they use the word Shippo (cloisonné) in their name, they were actually specialized pottery workshops. They designed porcelain specifically to capture the high-end look of prestigious wireless enamelware at a more affordable price point.

How the Trick WorksThe Glaze Technique: Instead of baking layers of glass paste inside cells, these pieces use a precise, sprayed underglaze gradient to duplicate the seamless blend of true wireless cloisonné.The "Metal" Accents: The faux metal rims at the lip and base are often cleverly glazed, silver-gilded, or thin metal bands fitted over the ceramic to fool the collector's eye when you don't have the item in hand.

True Japanese wireless cloisonné (musen shippo) is strictly a vitreous glass enamel process fused over a heavy copper, brass, or silver metal body. The defining feature is that temporary wires are painstakingly removed before firing so the glass melts together with no outlines at all.

The Tajimi / Fuji Shippo Art Porcelain Vase

Form: Ovoid body with a flared rim, designed to visually replicate high-end wireless enamelware (Musen Shippo).

The Illusion: Features a sprayed underglaze green-to-white color gradient and borderless pink roses to mimic the seamless look of true wireless enamel. Thin gilded lines copy the appearance of metal wire accents.

The Reality: This is structurally a ceramic object, not a cloisonné piece. Fired by specialized mid-century pottery workshops near Nagoya (such as Tajimi or Fuji Shippo), these items were mass-market art porcelain designed to replicate the appearance of luxury enamel-on-metal at an affordable price point.

Most sellers selling these items do not recognize that they have categorized them incorrectly. It is not their intention to misrepresent the information, because not many people understand what wireless cloisonné is or may not have seen or handled one before. Furthermore, when they ask an AI, the AI mistakenly tells them that they are wireless cloisonné.

Anyway, it makes for a fantastic cautionary tale and an excellent companion piece to my collection history.

Now, let's look across these 10 real vases. You can trace the complete stylistic shift of Japanese cloisonné from the busy, geometric, metal-focused mid-19th-century designs to the clean, painterly, minimalist masterpieces of the 20th century.

Group 1: The Early-to-Mid Meiji Foundations (1850s–1880s)

Characteristics: Hand-wrought, heavy copper or brass wirework and opaque enamels.

1. The 1850s–1870s Ovoid Panel VaseForm: High-waisted, footed ovoid shape featuring prominent vertical panel divisions over a dark green ground. Can you believe I paid $320 for it in 1998? This is the first cloisonné I purchased.

Technique: Translucent green and blue enamel applied over a crinkled metal foil ground (Ginbari).

Decoration: Detailed butterfly motifs and flowers outlined with heavy brass wires using semi-opaque doro (mud) enamels.

2. The 1870s–1880s Bottle-Neck Vase

Form: Miniature cabinet scale featuring a bulbous lower body transitioning into an elongated, parallel neck.

Technique: Early-period, primitive crinkled foil-backed green and purple panels.

Decoration: A dense brass-wired fish-scale pattern along the upper neck, moving into floral scrollwork over a deep cobalt blue field on the shoulder.

3. The 1870s–1880s Miniature Mosaic Vase

Form: The smallest miniature piece in the collection.

Technique: A background consisting of hundreds of hand-cut, microscopic green silver foil squares arranged in a "cracked-ice" mosaic pattern.

Decoration: Medallion panels outlined in red, containing brass-wired florets against an opaque sky-blue field on one side, and butterflies over an amber ground on the other.

4. The 1875–1885 Totai Shippo Vase

Form: A rare porcelain-core hybrid utilizing an unglazed ceramic body rather than a metal core.

Technique: The upper and lower rims intentionally expose the cream-colored ceramic body, while the neck and base use a matte, textured "tree bark" black lacquer ground.

Decoration: The central sky-blue panel is densely packed with intricate, heart-shaped scroll wires (wenli) surrounding traditional garden flowers and a butterfly.

5. The 1880–1890 Phoenix Vase

Form: Classic tapered cabinet vase with geometric shoulder transitions.

Technique: A deep black ground on the shoulder infused with shimmering Goldstone / Aventurine particles (Chakin) beneath scrolling wirework.

Decoration: A central shield-shaped emblem in bright yellow enamel depicting a Japanese Phoenix bird in flight, bordered by complex geometric diaper bands.

6. The 1880–1895 Garlic-Head Miniature Vase

Form: Exceptional Kyoto-style bud vase with a compressed garlic-bulb lower body and a slender, elongated neck.

Technique: Microscopic gold-wire scrollwork (karakusa) covering the lower body, with rich Goldstone / Aventurine enamel fill inside the butterfly wings.

Decoration: Vertical red panel dividers and repeating geometric patterns set against a soft, creamy pink ground along the neck.

Group 2: The Late Meiji, Taisho & Showa Refinement (1890s–1930s)

Characteristics: Precision silver wirework, highly advanced enamel chemistry, and a painterly aesthetic.

7. The Matched Emerald Green Pair

Form: A perfectly matched mirror pair of cabinet vases complete with custom wooden bases.

Technique: Translucent emerald green glass enamel fired over a highly regular, machine-stamped basket-weave silver foil ground.

Decoration: Naturalistic, lifelike white and pink roses trailing on thorny stems, outlined with ultra-fine, precision silver wires.

8. The "Pigeon Blood" (Akasuke) Cherry Blossom Vase

Form: Sleek, tapered cabinet vase maximizing reflective surface area.

Technique: Coated in highly prized, deep ruby-red translucent enamel (Akasuke) layered over a uniform, diamond-patterned silver foil ground.

Decoration: Detailed cherry blossom branches (sakura) trailing across the crimson field, featuring soft white-to-pink gradient shading inside silver wire outlines.

9. The Imperial Yellow Peony Vase

Form: Rounded, broad-shouldered cabinet vase. This tenth addition features an opaque yellow background with a voluminous silver-wired pink and white peony blossom.

Technique: Wrapped in a completely flawless, opaque yellow ground that requires intense firing precision to avoid dark specks or blemishes.

Decoration: A large, voluminous pink and white peony blossom (Botan) with deep green foliage contoured by silver wires, finished with polished dark metal rims.

Do you remember in my last post I talked about my collecting rule of thumb: The Power of Variety? If you look at this group, can you see that I am continuously following that rule? Never collect the same item twice unless it is a pair. Instead, chase maximum variety. By following this rule, this collection deliberately covers every possible variable: the shapes, the scales, the materials, and the colors. Because a varied collection turns a simple hobby into a living historical archive of vibrant beauty. It highlights the incredible versatility of Japanese master enamelers. Grouping these contrasting pieces together tells the complete, engaging story of artistic evolution!

Collector Insights on the Vase Market

For anyone inspired to start their own journey, Japanese cloisonné vases offer an incredible spectrum for collectors. While massive, museum-grade presentation pieces signed by master artists like Namikawa Yasuyuki or Ando Juhei can command thousands of dollars at major auctions, beautiful, unsigned cabinet vases and export pieces like these can still be found at estate sales and antique shops for $60 to $350. They are a beautiful, accessible way to hold 100+ years of artistic genius in your hands.

I would love to hear which style speaks to you the most—the rare ceramic body of the Totai, the shimmering depth of the Gin-bari foil, or the classic dense wirework panels? Do you prefer large ones or small ones?

I am going to post detailed pictures one by one next for reference.

If you love my collection and story, please keep an eye out for my upcoming 37th Collection post! In that thread, I will be showcasing my 4 Japanese cloisonné belt buckles right alongside a non-cloisonné belt buckle. You will see that miniature collections are also incredibly beautiful and don't occupy much space.