Paired vases "Birds in the garden" (Imari style). Japan, Arita workshops, the second half of the 20th century. Porcelain, glaze; underglaze painting with cobalt, overglaze painting with enamel paints, gilding. The pair of vases presented for examination is an example of Japanese artistic porcelain of the second half of the twentieth century, freely interpreting the basic styles and decorative techniques of porcelain products from the oldest production center, Arita (pref. The Saga). The vases are made of dense porcelain of high whiteness, covered with transparent glaze and decorated with cobalt underglaze painting and overglaze painting in a wide range of bright, saturated colors. The bodies of the vases are made in a shape close to the classic shape of a double pumpkin, but have three rounded parts that decrease to a concave neck with a slightly expanding corolla. The quality of the porcelain shard, the stylistic features of the painting, as well as the absence of a brand, attribute this pair to the works of the second half of the twentieth century. Despite the constant changes in the repertoire of Arita's workshops, many forms and motifs of painting have remained unchanged over the centuries: the shapes of flowers and the set of plants depicted, the compositional and coloristic techniques of ornamentation, generally retain the original style. So, in the decoration of a pair of vases, the kinrande technique is used – painting in gold or with using a gold background. Thanks to this technique, the surface of the products resembles an expensive brocade fabric, shimmering with gold. Individual plot scenes in cartouches are also a traditional decoration for Imari-style porcelain. The vases submitted for examination show subjects of the traditional genre of "flowers and birds" (category), an offshoot of the large genre of classical landscape, demonstrating the beauty and harmony of nature.