Set of Tokkuri Sake Bottles – Arita Sometsuke, 1940

Two elegant Japanese tokkuri (sake bottles) from the Arita region, porcelain in classic blue and white (sometsuke) with a soft, painterly touch.

Dimensions per piece: height approx. 26 cm, diameter 10 cm.
The form is stately and balanced: a cylindrical body rising to a narrow neck with a slightly flared, trumpet-shaped lip—ideal for pouring, and equally beautiful used as a vase. The decoration is painted in cobalt underglaze all around: a gently rippling waterscape with rocks, pines, and pavilions, executed in soft washes with contrasting deep-blue accents (typical of Arita painting in the first half of the 20th century). Cobalt bands at the shoulder and foot give a serene finish.

Decoratively powerful as an authentic Japanese statement in a modern or wabi-sabi interior, and perfect as solifleurs—striking with a single bright red flower or branch.

The pair is in lovely, well-cared-for vintage condition with very light wear and kiln marks to the glaze and footrim as shown; unsigned, with flat glazed bases as is customary for tokkuri.