Page 75 - 2019 September 11th Bonhams Lewis Collection Japanese and Korean Art NYC

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SHIBATA ZESHIN (1807-1891) Provenance
A tobacco tray with a bird-shaped kite Yoshiie Family, Suisekitei Collection
Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1870-1890 Previously sold, Bonhams, London, The Misumi Collection of Important
The deep tray with curved corners, and slightly recessed interior with Works of Art and Paintings, Part II, November 10, 2015, lot 3
indented corners, the wood body entirely covered in almost black
chado-nuri finished to an ishime-nuri texture, the interior decorated in Exhibited and Published
highly polished low black takamaki-e with a kite in the form of a crow Nezu Bijutsukan (Nezu Museum), Shibata Zeshin no shikko, urushi-e,
viewed from below and upside-down (as indicated by the location kaiga (Shibata Zeshin: From Lacquer Arts to Painting), exhibition
of the signature on the base), details of the feet and eyes in silver catalogue, Tokyo: Nezu Bijutsukan, 2012, cat. no.18
lacquer, the kite string and its ties depicted in gold hiramaki-e partly
incised in subori technique to indicate the individual twisted threads, In his catalogue note for the 2012 Zeshin exhibition at the Nezu
the string extending over the top side and the base to the long- Museum referred to above, lacquer historian Takao Yo comments
handled itomaki (winder) depicted on the side, its wood and bamboo that the kite depicted here is no ordinary toy but a special variety
components rendered in takamaki-e of gold, shibuichi, and shakudo that was probably, and typically, Zeshin’s own invention. An
powder incised in subori technique with wood grain, signed on the accompanying certficate refers to the present lot as having been the
underside Zeshin in gold hiramaki-e property of the Yoshiie family who lived in Tokyo and were owners of
With a wood tomobako storage box with label inscribed Tako maki-e a panel depicting a harvest festival, completed in 1882, that is one of
tabako-bon Zeshin saku (Maki-e tobacco tray by Zeshin) and letter the finest works in the Khalili Collection; see Joe Earle and Tadaomi
of authentication from Shoji Hoshin (1898–1993), reading Zeshin-o Goke, Meiji no Takara, Treasures of Imperial Japan, Masterpieces by
saku tako maki-e seidoji tabako-bon shinsaku mugi mono nari Showa Shibata Zeshin [in the Khalili Collection], London: Kibo Foundation,
gojukyunen uzuki hachijuroku-o Hoshin kan (Seido-ground tobacco 1996, cat. no.27.
tray by Zeshin, authentic work examined by Hoshin, aged 86, April
1984) with seals Shoji, Koma; wrapper sealed Hoshin no in
13/4 × 11 1/4 × 9 in (4.5 × 28.5 × 22.9 cm)
$20,000 - 30,000

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DRS. EDMUND AND JULIE LEWIS | 73