Page 90 - Sotheby's May 14, 2019 Fine Japanese Art. London

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ANOTHER PROPERTIES ordered 51 shields lacquered black and gold
A LACQUERED SHIELD FOR THE but twelve were lost off the coast of Hakata
DUTCH MARKET in a great storm, when lacquer workers were
returning from Nagasaki to Kyoto.
EDO PERIOD, MID-LATE 17 TH
CENTURY The earliest known dated shield, is that made
for Frederik Coyett, Opperhoodf in Deshima in
花鳥文蒔絵盾、江戸時代、17世紀中期—後期 1648, and this has a very similar design to the
above of a central coat of arms surrounded
the almost circular leather shield decorated by sprays and flying birds. Other known
in gold, black, silver, hiramaki-e and examples are in the Östasiatiska Museet,
takamaki-e with a coat of arms surrouded by Stockholm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam:
birds flying among flower sprays including inventory no. NG1978-92 and NG-NM-541
wisteria, plum blossom and fuyo on a black and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, inv. no.
ground with a gold hiramaki-e border to the 1992.1. 2
rim, the shield constructed of buffalo leather
55 cm., 21¾ in. high 1. The Dagregisters Deshima 1657-58.
Leather shields made from buffalo hide were 2. Oliver Impey, Christian Jörg, Japanese
exported from Bengal for lacquering. One Export Lacquer, 1580-1850, (Amsterdam,
of the earlierst records of export for shields 2005) pl. 461-464, p.193
is 1647 “sent to Japan a crate of 35 shields
received from Bengal to be lacqured black ‡ £ 20,000-30,000
1
with all kinds of foliage.” In 1657, Batavia € 23,500-35,300 US$ 26,500-39,700

88 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstanc-
es). Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.