Page 21 - Fine Japanese Art June 2, 2018 Galerie Zacke

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A CLOISONNÉ VASE
WITH IRIS BLOSSOMS
IN THE STYLE OF
NAMIKAWA SOSUKE
Colored enamel cloisonné
on silver. Japan, Meiji period
A cloisonné vase with an
ovoid shape and a short
neck. The decorations are
not cloisonné but wire-
free musen-shippo, to a
picturesque effect. Lily
blossoms painted on a light
greenish background with
sharp leaves that appear
like sword blades. There are
many different kinds of this
flower in Japan, including
hanashobu, ayame and
others. Stylistically, this
would be Namikawa
Sosuke.
HEIGHT 12.3 CM

Condition: Very good
condition
Provenance: From an
Austrian private collection
Estimate EUR 1.500,-
Starting price EUR 750,-

23 brush. Today, some collectors regard
A ‘WINTER’ CLOISONNÉ PLATE, the output of the short yet fruitful
BY NAMIKAWA SOSUKE, SIGNED cooperation between Seitei an Sosuke as
WATANABE SEITEI the pinnacle of Sosuke’s cloisonné work. 25
Polychrome enamels with cloisonné. A CLOISONNÉ VASE WITH FIVE HERONS
Japan, Meiji period ca. 1880 Technically speaking, this work is a Colored enamel cloisonné on brass.
combination of inlaid wire and musen- Japan, Meiji period
Watanabe Shotei aka Watanabe Seitei shippo, which marks the transition from
(1851 in Edo – 1918) was a Nihonga one technique to the other. It can hence A vase with a spherical body and a short, concave
painter and one of the first to visit be dated to after 1879, because it must neck. Five white sagi in various poses on the
Europe, attending the 1878 International have been created shortly after Seitei’s monochrome brown background. The different
Exhibition in Paris and being awarded return from Europe. nuances of white and very finely tuned transitions
a medal. His works have enjoyed great The flat, four-lobed plate shows a brown show this is wire-free musen-shippo instead of
popularity in the West, and a large sparrow, or suzume, sitting on the snow- cloisonné. The five herons appear like luminous
number are to be seen in both European covered branch of a pine tree on a light apparitions of higher beings.
and American collections. On his return grey background. His wings are retracted
from Europe, Seitei started to create as he is visibly freezing. The sparrow HEIGHT 9.2 CM
designs for cloisonné, working closely is a symbol of friendship and is also
with the accomplished cloisonné artist called ‘lucky sparrow’. Gilded rim, small Condition: Good condition, minor nick on the rim
Namikawa Sosuke (1847–1910), this bordure with very finely inlaid meander. Provenance: From an Austrian private collection
cooperation leading to further acclaim Stylized cloisonné blossoms and many
from abroad. Sosuke’s perhaps greatest spirals on the black-grey underside. Estimate EUR 500,-
achievement was his development of Starting price EUR 250,-
a technique called musen-shippo, also DIAMETER 28.8 CM
known as wireless enameling. This
enabled him and Seitei exclusively to Condition:
recreate brush painting on paper or Very good condition
silk in Cloisonné, a modus operandi Provenance:
completely unknown before and From an Austrian private collection
well visible on this plate, with the
multicolored enamels in the snow- Estimate EUR 15.000,-
covered tree, and a little icicle dropping Starting price EUR 7.500,-
down like the picturesque stroke of a

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