Page 229 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

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A SOFT-METAL-INLAID SHIBUICHI VASE
MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY), SIGNED OJU
KAZUNORI HO (FUKAWA KAZUNORI II; 1855-1919)
Of tapering ovoid form with short neck, inlaid in gold,
silver and shakudo hirazogan, finely chiseled a carp under
wisteria, carp body with textured shibuichi patina, signature
to the body
10º in. (26 cm.) high

$8,000-12,000

This vase shows the artist’s technical excellence and
creative vision in the free approach to design, perhaps best
seen in the great swathe of wisteria in katakiri-bori and
hirazogan in which the flowers and leaves glow like brush
painting.
Born in Tokyo, Fukawa Kazunori II (Keizaburo) learned
metalwork, cloisonne and painting from his father
Fukawa Kazunori I (Juzaburo), the third son of the
famous dramatist Gohensha Hanku. He was appointed as
a professor at the Japan Art Institute (Nihon Bijutsu-in)
in 1898.

For a sword guard by the same artist showing similar
techniques, see Nezu Museum, Pinnacle of Elegance: Sword
Fittings of the Mitsumura Colelction (Tokyo: Nezu Museum,
2017), no. 187.