This pair of small baluster vases is painted on a clear crackled glaze with complementary friezes. Fishing boats, ferries and distant sailing vessels cross the water before far-off mountains. Above them, groups of children are absorbed in a variety of arts and crafts. A lappet collar of chrysanthemums sits on each shoulder, with geometric bands at neck and foot.
The pairing of a waterscape with children at study or play is typical of the studio’s compositions of about 1900, combining topographical charm with the genre detail its foreign buyers prized. Each vase is 12.1 centimetres high and signed in gilt on the foot ‘Yabu Meizan’. Offered at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, New York, on 17 September 2025, lot 610. It realised US$23,040 including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of US$8,000–US$12,000.