Photographs do not wholly do justice to this glorious decorativeJapanese Satsuma  millefleur bowl from the Meiji period. The petal lobed bowl  is painted inside and out with mille fleur patterns . On the base the Shimazu crest and the signature of the 19th century maker, Nikko. 16 cm diameter. Comes with a Chinese fitted wooden stand. Unfortunately the bowl carries some damage as shown in images. If it was perfect, it would be outside the scope of Pluperfect Presents but in our view the damage does not detract from its intrinsic beauty. We are not always fans of millefleur - decorative but obvious - this, on the other hand, is simply stunning, wounded or not. There is a hairline on the base, v shaped mend on rim with hairline, and two chips on the base rim. Some faded spots of gilding on the upper rim, some traces of wear on the body.
 
Provenance : From the Estate of Alfred and Irene Morley and thence by descent to the last owner. Alfred ( Bob) Morley (1890-1971) was a British journalist and diplomat . He lived from 1915 till 1941 in Hongkong and Shanghai and was editor for both the Hong-Kong Telegraph and the South China Morning Post. He settled in Shanghai in 1931 as Editor for the Shanghai Times. He was also president of the Rotary Club Shanghai. From March 1940 he was Press Attaché at the British embassy in Shanghai .