Japanese Marbled biscuit Neriage Nerikomi Banko pair of vases. Meiji period

Japanese Marbled Neriage Nerikomi porcelain bisque Banko pair of vases. Meiji period.
This pair of Banko vases are characteristic of the mixed biscuit clay designs (Neriage / thrown, and Nerikomi / hand built) produced during the later 19th century (late Meiji era) as they mix the two techniques.
Slabs of different clays or clays colored with stains or oxides, are stacked, folded, pressed into logs, sliced, and arranged to form a vessel. In this way, the numerous stacked layers appear as fine undulating lines embedded in a surrounding color in the finished vessel.
"Neri" is the root word meaning 'to mix'. ... 'age' is the root word meaning 'to pull up'. thus Neriage refers to wheel work with colored clays. 'kome' means 'to press into' as in pressing into a mold. So Nerikomi has generally been expanded to mean any hand building with colored clay.
The vases have graceful organic baluster shaped form and delicate hand shaped loop handles.
The surface has marbled clay layers showing rich color and tight arrangement to the contrasting colors. Each side has eggplant shaped white clay reserves. The neck shows an intricated geometric clay arangment. It' s unusuel to see how the artist combined Neriage end Nerikome as the body is made on a wheel but the triangular shaped collar ornament shows the manual application of the clay.
The piece is hand painted with heavy slip enamels. The insects floating over grasses show rich colors and fine detail throughout. Gold has been applied and worked with an agate tool.
The base is stamped with the pictured impressed marks of Banko.
A French bronze mount has been added in the 19th century, proving an early import. This type of bronze were made in Paris for shops selling luxury goods.
35 x 15 cm.
For a similar vase, see the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Note that if the shape is the same the decor is more simple as it represents flowers on an oval reserve.
The V&A example was ordered in 1875 shortly before the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876 where the collection was displayed, they paid £1000 for a representative historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period to the present time. Some of the collection was labelled property of the south Kensington museum. Described as a marbled biscuit porcelain vase with decoration in overglaze enamels and gold Banko ware, height 31,4 cm.
The Victoria and Albert Museum Vase is marked Banko made by Nakayama.
As showing a more achieved technique, our vases are probably from the same maker but after 1875 and possibly for the Paris International Exhibition of 1878.
Japan, Meiji period, circa 1875 -80.