Two Metalwork Boxes, MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY)

Masterful Exuberance
Meiji Period Works of Art from a Private Collection (Lots 1-51)
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY

Two Metalwork Boxes
Meiji period (late 19th century)
The first bronze, chiselled and inlaid in low and high relief with copper, silvered copper and gilt with birds and butterflies flying among flowers and grasses, hinged cover

The second iron, from the Komai workshop, worked in gold and silver nunomezogan and hirazogan with a shaped panel enclosing a landscape depicting Higashiyama in Kyoto, with blossoming trees, pines and strolling people, surrounded by a border of foliage motif, the side with various bands including foliage, key-fret design and stylised flowerheads, the gilt interior with cranes in flight, the base with scattered cherry flowers
14cm. wide (bronze box) and 9.2cm. wide (iron box)

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Lot Essay

This second inlaid box depicts in detail the landscape of Higashiyama, including Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Otani Honbyo, the mausoleum dedicated to Shinran (1173-1263) (the founder of Shin Buddhism), and the Entsu-kyo bridge.

The man behind this collection was an incurable collector who loved art. He was particularly interested in the patina of objects, in multi-coloured bronzes, and in the juxtaposition of media – bronze, enamel and lacquer. He appreciated the details, intricate nature of the decoration and effort required to create each object. His aim was to create a diverse Meiji art collection, of objects created by artisans who were long gone, from a period and country very foreign to his own.