A Pair of 19th Century Celadon Crackle Glazed Porcelain Vases

A pair of late 19th century porcelain vases of good scale and having celadon crackle glazes.

Meiji Period (1868 – 1912)

Condition: Restored rim on one vase

In ceramics, the colour celadon is achieved during the firing process when iron oxide transforms from ferric to ferrous iron at temperatures of approximately 1300 degrees centigrade. Celadon vases, along with other monochrome vases, had long been popular in China and the influence upon Japan became especially prevalent in the 19th century. The name ‘Celadon’ was contrived by Europeans, commonly thought to have originated in France in the 17th century after the shepherdess, Celadon, in the 17th century pastoral romance by Honoré d’Urfé. Alternative theories include the Sanskrit for ‘green stone’ – ‘silla and dhara’ or the Ayyubid Sultan, Salah ad-Din, recorded as having sent as many as forty pieces of the ceramic to the Sultan of Syria in 1171.