Vase in a globe form ornamented with segmented vertical bands reminiscent of stone pathways. Of cloisonné enamels in tones of ivory with blushes of orange-yellow, and black lines, executed in musen or wireless technique, with applied silver mounts. Signed on the reverse with the Ando mark (the Ando Company, Nagoya). Showa era, circa 1950 – 1957.

With the tomobako or original storage box, inscribed on the exterior of the lid: Shippo Ki-yu Kuro Sen Mon Kabin or Cloisonné Yellow Glazed (and) Black Line Design Vase, then signed: Ando Shippo-ten Zo or Made by the Ando Cloisonné Company, and sealed.

In the 1950s a number of artists treated garden subjects, often narrowly focusing on a discrete scene or single element. Similarly inspired, the Ando designers and enamellers created this abstract vase of repeating, slab stone paths. Pale yellow shades the ivory and black pattern, warming the surface like sunlight and suffusing the geometry of the design with movement.