Baluster-shaped vase (part of a five-piece garniture) ca. 1690-1720 Japanese, for export market (Hizen ware, Imari type) This garniture, a grouping of vases, is notable for its completeness. Most such groupings have been broken up over time into their individual components. The painted decoration on all five vases is unusually richpainted with a dark cobalt blue applied under the glaze, then further decorated with red, green, turquoise, and black enamels and gilding. The finials or decorative knobs on the lids are in the form of a guardian lion, known as a shishi, echoing in three dimensions the primary motif painted below.. Baluster-shaped vase (part of a five-piece garniture). Japanese, for export market (Hizen ware, Imari type). ca. 1690-1720. Hard-paste porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze enamel and gilding. Ceramics-Porcelain-Export