As part of our Japanese works of art collection we are delighted to offer this most unusual Meiji Period (1868-1912) shibuichi trumpet shaped vase of slender proportions set upon a gold wire decorated shakudo base, the highly skilled artist has captured the playful scene of two Oni clambering up the body of the vase attempting to catch the legendary character Okame, in Japanese folklore she represents long life and good fortune and can always be seen smiling. One of the two mythical beast acts as a support for the other to climb upon in their quest to reach the evasive Okame, each of the three characters manufactured from mixed metals to an exacting standard, as one would expect from an Ozeki retained artist. The central tapered section of the vase is further decorated in sumptuous vibrant enamels of various designs within gold wire cloisons. The vase is fully artist signed at the base and carries the all-important Ozeki seal to the underside. A most extraordinary combination of techniques for a vase crafted in the early to mid 1880’s period, resulting in a humorous yet very serious and scarce piece of mid Meiji period metalwork.
Literature:
This artist was one of two sons of the luminary craftsman Hagiya Katsuhira, one of the leading metalworkers of the Edo/Meiji period, born in 1804 as Terakado Yasuke , he took his name from a combination of the Mito masters who taught him and subsequently went on to become one of the most eminent Mito school artists and tutors, with many of his works now residing in the worlds most recognized museums and collections, in 1844 Katsuhira began working directly for the Mito clan where he took on the role of Goyo or official artisan for the Mito Tokugawa Daimyo, this role would have undoubtedly given Katsuhira special privileges including the ability to wear swords in public places, a privilege usually reserved for the Samurai classes, he went on to teach such famous artists as Unno Shomin and Kano Natsuo, amongst others, with one of his two sons (Suzuki ) Katsuhiro achieving the status of head craftsman to the Suzuki family and thus adopted their name , Hagiya died in 1886 at the age of 83 , remarkably his son Suzuki Katsuhiro I died a month earlier, aged just 48.
A remarkably similar shakudo example of this very scarce vase is recorded in: The Hartman collection of Japanese metalwork. Christies South Kensington July 1st 1976. lot 676 was the final lot of the sale. That example is not signed by Katsuhiro but does bear the Ozeki company seal. This would lead me to conclude that the design was possibly that of Ozeki Sadajiro or certainly favoured by him, as such he commissioned his lead artists to produce various examples, at the time of writing I am aware of only a handful of examples.
Condition report:
Very good condition throughout.
Approximate Sizes:
Height: 11” 28 cm
Diameter: 2 ½” 6.3 cm
Free worldwide delivery and certificate of authenticity are included within the price of this item.