Page 167 - Fine Chinese, Japanese and Buddhist Art September 28, 2018 Galerie Zacke

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AN IMPORTANT AND MASTERFULLY EXECUTED
JAPANESE LACQUER TEBAKO WITH MOUNT FUJI,
DRAGON AND SEASHELLS
Japan, Edo period (1603 - 1868)
Lacquered wood
Published and illustrated with both sides in Thomas
E. Kirby, The Art collection formed by the late Heber R.
Bishop, New York, 1906 – catalogue number 1546.
One side of the cover is decorated with a view of Mount
Fuji in gold and silver hiramaki-e with swirling clouds
and hirame. In the middle there is a sensu (fan) with
dense nashiji and on the other side many pine groves in
silver and gold. The sides are decorated with shells and
seaweed in silver and gold takamaki-e on a beautifully
polished togidashi-e ground revealing varying shades
of gold, silver and red; furthermore, hirame flakes all
around. The inside with swirling waves and clouds with
an inset tray depicting a golden dragon amongst swirling
clouds, grasping an inlaid gold pearl, the underside with
dense nashiji. This rare double-fan shaped tebako is
exemplary for its many lacquer techniques and the setup
– all three plains are represented with the sea on the
bottom, the celestial dragon in the middle and the great
Mount Fuji with pine trees on the top.
Shape: Double-fan shaped tebako
Dimensions: 13 cm (width), 4.1 cm (height)
Condition: Excellent condition, one tiny nick on the cover
– restored to invisibility. Three small hairlines on the edges
Provenance: From the important collection of Heber R.
Bishop
EstimateġEUR 3.000,-
Starting price EUR 1.500,-

Heber Reginald Bishop (1840 – 1902) was a noted
businessman, philanthropist and an influential
trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its
formative years. He is well known for his superior
taste and important collections, especially his jade
collection which is published in two volumes and
exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. The two Japanese lacquer objects in
this catalogue (nos. 166 and 167 come from his
extensive and important lacquer collection.

Thomas E. Kirby, The Art Collection formed by the Late
Portrait in Jade of Heber R. Bishop, 1898 - Courtesy Heber R. Bishop, New York, 1906, (engravings by G. E.
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Burr)

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