The vase isn’t the first time an item from Japan that had been on display at the 1893 fair has been rediscovered. In 2015 Chicago Park District officials confirmed they found in a storage facility three sliding door paintings believed to have been displayed in the Phoenix Pavilion at the fair. Japan gave the pavilion to the city as a gift during the exposition, with an aim of promoting Japanese culture. In contrast, much of the fine art that was exhibited at the fair was on loan from Chicago cultural elites, said Julia Bachrach, retired historian for the Chicago Park District.