A Patinated Bronze Vase by Kozan YAMAMOTO

Of tall, gently tapering ovoid form, with a compressed shoulder and short waisted neck articulated by two fine incised bands below the rim. The surface is hand-applied patination, producing hues in brown, orange, and red, lending the bronze a warmth and depth that shifts subtly under raking light. The form itself — restrained, architectural, closer to Art Deco sensibility than to Meiji exuberance — carrying the full weight of the design. The base bears an incised mark reading “Kozan”.

Yamamoto Kozan was among the generation of Taisho-Showa bronze casters who moved away from the dense figural and mixed-metal work associated with the Meiji export trade toward simplified, sculptural vase forms aimed at a domestic and connoisseur ikebana market.