Ai Weiwei 2015 Notebook, Coloured Vases Cover, A5 with 80 Plain White Pages, New
Ai Weiwei 2015 Notebook, Coloured Vases Cover, A5 with 80 Plain White Pages, New
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- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
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Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $11, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
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- Character
- QuietResplendent Balanced 4.5 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
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Print, painting and frame
Condition report
Mint9.5 / 10
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
History in Candy Colours
Ai Weiwei's painted vessels march across the cover, ancient forms in glossy modern colour. Inside, eighty blank pages wait for your own thoughts.
Best for: Ai Weiwei admirers, students and anyone who likes to write or sketch in something beautiful
Condition notes
Described as new, opened once to check the contents. Not yet examined in hand.
Assessed from photographs and descriptionReport dated 14 November 2026
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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An A5 notebook by Ai Weiwei from 2015, its cover filled with ancient-looking vessels dipped in bright industrial paint, the image of the artist's Coloured Vases, with eighty blank white pages inside.
The Piece
Ai Weiwei, born in Beijing in 1957, has spent decades asking what we value and why. In his Coloured Vases he took vessels presented as Neolithic and Han dynasty pots and dipped them in glossy commercial paint, a gesture that is part vandalism, part homage and wholly unforgettable. Seen in a crowd on a gallery floor, the jars become a field of candy colour with history showing through.
This notebook carries that field on its cover. Rows of round pots in pink, yellow, cobalt, emerald, white and oxblood stand on a pale ground, some with drips and bare patches where the older surface shows. The softbound cover wraps eighty plain white pages, ready for sketches, notes or lists.
It is described as bought at a museum in the United Kingdom, new, and opened once only to check the contents. It is a production object, not a signed or numbered edition.
Details
- Artist: Ai Weiwei
- Object: Notebook, Coloured Vases cover
- Year: 2015
- Size: 14.5 x 21 cm (5.7 x 8.3 in), A5
- Pages: 80, plain white
- Binding: Softbound
- Edition: Not a numbered edition
- Signature: Unsigned
- Condition: New, opened once
Condition
- Described as new, opened once to check the contents.
- Pages unused.
Condition grade S (unused, as new) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as the Ai Weiwei notebook the page describes; we present that as given. Keep flat and dry, away from direct sunlight to protect the cover colours.
Delivery from Japan
Packed by hand in Japan with acid-free tissue and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Browse what has just arrived, or read our guide to Japanese condition ranks before you choose.
Concierge
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Collectors also search: Ai Weiwei notebook · Ai Weiwei Coloured Vases · Ai Weiwei museum stationery

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