Page 246 - Bonhams May 2017 London Fine Japanese Art
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TWO INLAID RECTANGULAR WOOD BOXES AND COVERS AN INLAID SILVER AND SHAKUDO PEAR-SHAPED VASE
One by Tsuchiya Morichika IV, Taisho (1912-1926) era, By Yamada Motonobu (1847-1897) for the Ozeki Company,
dated 1915 and one Meiji (1868-1912) era, early 20th century Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th century
Each inset with a shibuichi panel on its cover, the first engraved with The cast shakudo body chiselled and modelled in high relief of gold,
a portrait of Daruma, signed Taisho kinoto-u shoka koku, Morichika silver, copper and shibuichi with five doves, three standing among pine
(carved by Morichika in the early summer of the kinoto-u year [1915]) needles, pine cones, ginkgo and maple leaves scattered around
with seal, and inscribed within an oval cartouche possibly reading Taiko their feet, two in flight among other leafy sprays drifting to the ground,
in katakana and kanji, with a wood tomobako storage box with an the top of the silver neck partially pierced and carved in low relief with
inscription on the front of the lid, inside of the lid dated Taisho kinoto-u chrysanthemum blossoms, maple leaves and ginkgo leaves enclosed
(1915) and signed Kinkodo yonsei Tsuchiya Mrorishika (Tsuchiya within two gold-outlined lappet-shaped panels and decorated in flat
Morichika, the fourth generation of Kinkodo) with seal, 4.1cm x 7.5cm inlay of gold, silver and copper in a range of different patinations with
x 10cm (1 5/8in x 2 15/16in x 4in); the second carved in gilt high relief chrysanthemum sprays, the body signed on one side with chiselled
with a pheasant in a garden beside a tree trunk, unsigned, characters Bokusuihen, Inshi koku (Carved by Inshi on the Sumida
5.7cm x 13.6cm x 10.5cm (2¼in x 5 3/8in x 4 1/8in). (5). River) with a gold seal-mark Motonobu and signed on the base with
a gold-wire seal Ozeki sei (made by Ozeki).
£800 - 1,000 29.5cm (11 9/16in) high.
JPY110,000 - 140,000
US$990 - 1,200 £7,000 - 10,000
JPY970,000 - 1,400,000
The signature ‘the fourth Kinkodo’ probably alludes to Tsuchiya US$8,700 - 12,000
Morichika, fourth generation descended from Tsuchiya Morichika I
(died 1858) who excelled at making kozuka and fuchigashira in Provenance:
takabori iro-e (coloured inlay high-relief). an English private collection, bequeathed to the present owner by her
father who acquired the vase just after World War II.
One of the finest metalworkers of the later nineteenth century, Yamada
Motonobu came from a family of artists who had originally served the
branch of the Tokugawa family that ruled the Mito domain, some 70
miles to the northeast of Edo/Tokyo. He started his training in metal
carving at age 13 in 1864 and is recorded as working for the Imperial
Household in 1877 (see Sekai o odorokaseta Bakumatsu, Meiji no
kinko (Late-Edo-Period and Meiji-Era Metalwork That Astonished the
World), Rokusho, 62, Tokyo, Maria Shobo, March 2007, p.89). After
the prohibition of the wearing of swords in 1876, companies such as
Ozeki encouraged Motonobu and other sword-fitting makers to apply
their dazzling skills to the manufacture of ornaments and accessories
directed mainly at the overseas market.
244 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.
