As part of our Japanese works of art collection we are delighted to offer this outstanding Meiji period 1868-1912 mixed metal and enamel panel, artist signed by Suzuki Katsuhiro I (1827-1886 ) for the world renowned Ozeki Company, the solid silver and shibuichi tray is a tour de force combination of mixed metal and enamel work, the lobed panel stands upon four sensational quality mixed metal feet, the central shibuichi panel is decorated in high relief with a group of mixed metal cockerels, the outer lobed section is formed from silver interspersed with breathtaking quality gold wire enamel decorated snowflakes of varying size, colour and design, these give the panel an interesting and very contemporary balance, the artist has signed the panel Suzuki Katsuhiro above Katsuhiro in a gold seal, the all important Ozeki company seal can be found on the underside.
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.
See : 2020 Vision of an enlightened ruler – plate 18 for a work in our collection by Suzuki Katsuhiro’s famous father.
See :Ozeki Yahei 大関弥兵衛 was especially well known in the West as a broker for the highest quality metalwork objects. Ozeki commissioned works from such leading metalworkers as;
Unno Moritoshi 海野盛寿,
Yamada Motonobu 山田元信,
Kaneyasu Masatoshi 兼康正寿,
Ikeda Minkoku 池田民国
– all of which appeared in exhibitions under the brand name Ozeki 大関.
“‘The Musashiya company, operated by Ozeki Yahei 大関弥兵衛 and his son Sadajiro, were perhaps the most successful of the concerns selling high-quality decorative art during the Meiji era. Originally a dealer in pipes, Ozeki Yahei set up the Yokohama branch at 66 Main Street, probably under the management of his son Ozeki Sadajiro, soon after the port was opened in 1859. In 1877, both father and son exhibited commissioned pieces under their separate names in the first Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai [National Industrial Exposition]. By 1880, the company is recorded as employing twenty-four people and dealing in enamels, bronzes, ivory, crystal, carvings, pins, fans, hardstones, tortoiseshell, lacquer, and a variety of ceramics.’ [Joe Earle, Splendors of Meiji: Treasures of Imperial Japan, Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection (St. Petersburg, Florida, Broughton International Publications, 1999), p. 94] “
Condition report :
Fabulous age related condition.
Approximate sizes :
Length : 8″ 20 cm
Depth : 6 1/4″ 15.8 cm
Height : 1 1/8″ 2.7 cm
Free worldwide delivery and a certificate of authenticity are included within the price of this item.