Japanese design had reached deep into Austrian decorative arts by the 1860's, well before the Aesthetic Movement gave the trend a name in Britain a decade or so later, and this urn-shaped vase shows an early version of that borrowing: a bird worked against a ground of fine flora and foliage, rendered with the asymmetry and open space typical of Japanese pattern rather than the denser, more symmetrical European floral schemes usually paired with a Classical urn form. The two elements, an inherited Western vessel shape and an imported Eastern decorative language, sit somewhat at odds on the same piece, which is part of what makes early Japonisme pieces like this one interesting to look at closely.
The handles pull firmly back toward European tradition, though: double acanthus leaf scrollwork finished with Medusa faces at the base of each handle, a classical motif with roots stretching back to antiquity, applied here in the warm earth-toned majolica glazing Gerbing & Stephan built their reputation on. The vase is hand-painted on both sides and marked to the base with GS & T and the number 4605, tying the piece to a documented run within the factory's output.
