Page 22 - Bonhams Royal Collection Fine Japanese Art London Nov. 2019

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SHIBATA ZESHIN 柴田是真 (1807–1891)
URUSHI-E (LACQUER PAINTING) OF A POMEGRANATE
BRANCH, FRUIT ON A TRAY, AND A WATER PITCHER
柘榴水瓶図額装漆絵
Meiji era (1868–1912), dated 1878

Lacquer on paper, mounted as an album leaf and framed, depicting a
pomegranate with its flowering branch resting on a seigaibon (circular
metal serving tray) made from the alloy of copper and tin known as
sahari, with a Chinese-style bronze mizutsugi (ewer) cast with low-relief
ornament of hō-ō (phoenixes), these motifs executed in urushi-e in
combination with a variety of kawari-nuri (special techniques) to convey
the textures of the various utensils; signed Gyōnen nanajūni Zeshin 行年
七十二是真 (Zeshin, aged 72) with seal Tairyūkyo 対柳居

Overall: 53.7cm × 58.2cm (21⅛in × 22⅞in)
Image: 31.9cm × 40.4cm (12½in × 15⅞in)

With wood storage box (2)

Provenance:
Misumi Hisashi Collection
三隅悠 旧蔵
Sold in these Rooms, 5 November 2014, lot 11

Exhibited:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2017–2018

Exhibited and Published:
Nezu Bijutsukan (Nezu Museum) 2012, cat. no. 123

£20,000 - 30,000
JPY2,600,000 - 3,900,000
US$24,000 - 36,000
As noted by Tahira Namiko in her catalogue entry for the Nezu Museum
exhibition held in 2012, Zeshin used very thick layers of lacquer to convey
the colour and texture of the metalwork depicted here. This suggests that
the present painting was always intended to be mounted as an album leaf
rather than a hanging scroll, since rolling and unrolling might have caused
the lacquer to crack. Zeshin’s skill in sahari-nuri, presumably imitating
the exotic copper-tin alloy used to make the metal tray for tea-ceremony
use shown here, was mentioned in a posthumous Imperial eulogy (Earle
and Gōke 1996, p. 50). In addition to pictorial versions of sahari like
the present example, he also made actual lacquer utensils that faithfully
reproduce the metal’s colour and texture (see lot 19 in the present
catalogue). This composition as a whole is an eloquent expression of
Zeshin’s lifelong passion for the tea ceremony and its utensils.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
20 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.