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Does anybody have any thoughts on the origin and likely age of this little pot, decorated with raised slip? It's about 4¼"/11cm tall and I've been told that the lettering on the bottom says "74" in Chinese.

Other than that all I know is that I bought it in an antique shop in Stockbridge in Edinburgh 40 years ago, and that at that point it was covered in a thick crust of dirt which suggested that it was at least 20 years old.

Your piece is Japanese. Looks like Nippon moriage ware, early 20thc.

Actually, your small bottle is Japanese, an attractive example of "Moriage" elevated slip-decorated wares, which were popular around the turn of the century, circa 1900-1925, I believe. The marking may be a stock or other factory number. Your bottle might have had a stopper originally, or it could have been used for a vase as is.

Similar Moriage wares of the period often had "Nippon" markings, which were replaced around 1920 with "Made in Japan" labels. The lack of an export label on yours could indicate it was exported boxed under a paper label, or perhaps was purchased by a tourist in Japan and declared on entry at the home port.

Here are a couple of different Moriage bottles, with subdued dots of raised slip used to accent the gilt. The large one is almost exactly as high as yours. I display the small one among my snuff bottles, but its screw-on lid suggests it might have been for pills or other use. The larger one with stopper probably was for toilet use, maybe as a bath salts or powder dispenser.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thank you both. Yes, that looks right. By looking up "moriage" I found this very similar vase on eBay -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINIATURE-ANTIQUE-VINTAGE-JAPANESE-MORIAGE-EWER-AND-SMALL-VASE-WITH-PANELS/233044932059

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