Description
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
From our Japanese collection, we are thrilled to offer this Japanese Pair of Cloisonne Enamel Vases attributed to Japanese Pair Cloisonne Enamel Vases Honda Yosaburo. The pair or Japanese vases shaped with slightly a slightly bulbous body tapered down to an oval base with waisted necks. The Cloisonne Vases with a steel grey ground having two large oval scenes on each vase. The necks decorated with alternating borders having flowers and geometric shapes with a band of crane birds with a goldstone ginbari background across the shoulders. The main body scenes feature a large Hoo mythical phoenix bird surrounded by florets of blossoming flowers upon a matching goldstone ginbari background. The second scene with matching borders and a central Qilin mythical dragon. The scenes are bordered by floating chrysanthemum flowers and cartouches of geometric patterns. The Vases are stood on the original and rare pair of cloisonne enamel stands with matched cloisonne enamels and decoration, a rare example to find with the vases. The Cloisonne Enamel Vases date to the Meiji Period (1868-1912) circa 1890 and remain unsigned however we have firmly attributed them to Japanese Pair Cloisonne Enamel Vases Honda Yosaburo (active circa 1870s-1910) due to their high quality composition and colours.
Honda Yosaburo was a highly regarded artist work around the 1870s to the early 1900s circa 1910. Throughout his career he was known for his extremely well detailed enamels with precision design. Unfortunately he was an artist that rarely signed his own work and therefore has left little trace today. Typically his compositions included lappets with dragons, mythical beasts or birds often in a darker colour glaze with browns, dark reds and goldstone.
Cloisonne is a technique of decorating metalwork objects with coloured material separated by wire often made from precious metals. In the first instance the decoration is formed by creating a stencil on the metal object by affixing wires to the surface which will be visible once the product is finished allowing the artisan to craft beautiful scenes such as blossoming flowers or mythical animals by filling in the spaces with various colours. For further information please see our news article ‘Cloisonne | A Japanese Masterpiece‘.
Enamel (vitreous enamel) also known as porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word vitreous comes from the Latin vitreous, meaning “glassy”.
Meiji Period was an era of Japanese history that spanned from 1868 to 1912. It was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people began to build a paradigm of a modern, industrialised nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western countries and aesthetics. As a result of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound and it affected the social structure, politics, economy, military, and foreign relations across the board. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was preceded by the Keio era and was succeeded by the Taisho era.
Cultural Art during the Meiji Period was of particular interest to the government and they overhauled the art export market which in turn promoted Japanese arts via various world’s fairs, beginning in Vienna at the world fair in 1873. The government heavily funded the fairs and took an active role organising how Japan’s culture was presented to the world including creating a semi-public company named Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha (First Industrial Manufacturing Company). The Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha was used to promote and commercialise exports of Japanese art and established the Hakurankai Jimukyoku (Exhibition Bureau) to maintain quality standards. For the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, the Japanese government created a Centennial Office and sent a special envoy to secure space for the 30,000 items that would be displayed. The Imperial Household also took an active interest in arts and crafts, commissioning works by select artists to be given as gifts for foreign dignitaries further emphasising the high quality and importance of Japanese art. Just before the end of the 19th century in 1890, the Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist to the Imperial Household) system was created to recognise distinguished artists. These artists were selected for their exceptionally high quality wares and talent in their own industry. Over a period of 54 years Seventy artists were appointed, amongst these were ceramicist Makuzu Kozan and cloisonné enamel artist Namikawa Yasuyuki.
Measurements Vases Only – 30.5cm High x 14.5cm Wide x 11.5cm Deep Stands – 10cm High x 14cm Wide x 11cm Deep – Together 34.5cm High when stood in stands. ( Overall 13.6 x 5.7 x 4.5 Inches)
Condition Very Good, one stand with some separation to one section and one vase with very minor hairlines.
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