Japanese Metal Vase with Blue-Gold Patina, Takaoka Style, Vintage Showa

An elegant metal bottle vase whose form and surface stand entirely in the tradition of Japanese metalwork from Takaoka. Above a short, stepped foot ring rises a strong, cylindrical to bulbous body with a softly rounded shoulder, from which a long, slender neck grows upwards and flares into a trumpet shape at the mouth. The clear, almost architectural silhouette combines the classic Japanese kabin form with the pared-back language of mid-century design.

The vase owes its special appeal to its extraordinary surface: a marbled play of petrol, turquoise and deep cobalt blue lies over a shimmering gold ground, traversed by fine, net-like veins and dark speckles. Depending on the light, the patina looks like a glimpse into the deep sea one moment and like a metallic glaze the next. The underside is also fully finished in these colours, and fine turning marks from manufacture can be seen inside the neck. The city of Takaoka in Toyama Prefecture has been the most important centre of Japanese metal casting since the early 17th century, and its workshops are still known for artful chemical colouring and speckled patinas that give the metal such lively colour gradients. The vase is unsigned; its form, workmanship and surface treatment point to a Japanese piece from the Showa period, around the 1960s to 1980s.

The vase is 24.5 cm high with a diameter of 11.5 cm. It is in very good vintage condition; the patina is intense and evenly preserved, without dents or notable signs of use. As an ikebana vase for a single branch, as a solitaire on a sideboard or shelf, or as a strong colour accent in a mid-century, Japandi or wabi-sabi interior, it is an expressive collector's piece of Japanese metal art.