Vase in an ovoid, baluster form ornamented with basho leaves and a praying mantis. Of carved porcelain, with a pale blue glazed ground. Signed on the reverse with an incised signature by the artist: Dai Nihon Seifü Zo (Seifü Yohei III, 1851 – 1914). Late Meiji Era, circa 1890 – 1912.

For other pieces of this type by Seifu Yohei III, c.f. Sumitomo Collection 2009 catalogue from its Tokyo branch, the Senoku Hakukan Bunkan, Itaya Hazan o Meguru Kindai Töji (Itaya Hazan and His World of Modern Ceramics), number 35, page 37.

A masterpiece of porcelain carving, this vase is among the most spectacular and large of the ceramics for which Seifü Yohei III became most famous. Apparently he studied early Chinese carved porcelains and these inspired his work.