A SUZURIBAKO [WRITING-BOX]

SIGNED HANZAN, EDO PERIOD (SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY)

Details

A SUZURIBAKO [WRITING-BOX]
Signed Hanzan, Edo Period (Second Half of the 18th Century)
Of standard rectangular form; natural wood ground; decoration in gold takamaki-e, pottery, pewter and shell; the edges of box and lid black lacquer with decoration in gold hiramaki-e; interior with brownish lacquer ground and decoration in gold nashiji, gold takamaki-e and pottery; rims of box, lid and ink-stone gold lacquer; copper water-dropper; black lacquer base; signed in seal form Hanzan in red on a square of inlaid white pottery, slight old wear
Exterior with two quails on a pile of harvested heads of millet, a third quail flying down to join them; the edges with a sayagata ni hana [broken cross] design; interior of the lid with a bamboo pole and two cords from one of which a naruko [bird-scarer] is suspended
1.7/8 x 8.1/8 x 9in. (4.7 x 20.6 x 24.3cm.)

Provenance

M. A. Huc Collection
Mme Gadiot Collection
Demaree and Dorothy Bess Collection
Charles A. Greenfield Collection

Literature

H. Batterson Boger, The Traditional Arts of Japan: A Complete Illustrated Guide (London and New York, 1964), pl. 17
Eskenazi Limited, The Charles A. Greenfield Collection of Japanese Lacquer (London, 1990), cat. no. 69
Andrew J. Pekarik, Japanese Lacquer, 1600-1900: Selections from the Charles A. Greenfield Collection (New York, 1980), cat. no. 69, fig. 87 and colour pl. 21
Harold P. Stern, Birds, Beasts, Blossoms and Bugs (New York, 1976), no. 128
Harold P. Stern, The Magnificent Three: Lacquer, Netsuke and Tsuba (New York, 1972), no. 59 (boxes)

Exhibited

New York, 1972, Japan House Gallery
Los Angeles, 1976, University of California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery
New York, 1977, Asia House Gallery
New York, 1980, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lot Essay

Mochizuki Hanzan, thought to have lived from 1743 to 1790, called himself Haritsu II in homage to Ogawa Haritsu (1663-1747) although he was neither his son nor his pupil. He was born in Edo and may have learnt the techniques of chinkinbori [incised and inlaid work] and ceramic inlay from one of the Yosei family. Quails, especially when shown among millet plants, became a favourite theme with painters of the Tosa school in the 17th century. The quail and millet motif owes its origins to Chinese album paintings of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)1.

1 William Watson (ed.), The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period (London, 1981), cat. no. 16

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