Meiji-Taisho period (early 20th century), signed Kazuhide koku (carved by Sato Kazuhide; 1855-1925)

Details

A pair of silver imperial presentation vases
Meiji-Taisho period (early 20th century), signed Kazuhide koku (carved by Sato Kazuhide; 1855-1925)
Each vase of tapering ovoid form with high chamfered shoulder and slightly flared neck, elaborately inlaid in gold, silver and shakudo with branches of chrysanthemum and confederate rose, applied with gold sixteen-petal chrysanthemum crests of the Imperial Household on the neck, the signature on body, stamped on the base jungin and Miyamoto sei (pure silver, produced for Miyamoto)
13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) high

Literature

Kuo Hong-Sheng and Chang Yuan-Feng, chief eds. et al., Meiji no bi / Splendid Beauty: Illustrious Crafts of the Meiji Period (Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics, 2013), pp. 237-239.

Exhibited

National Palace Museum, “The arts and Cultures of Asia,” 2004. cat. no. 51.
“Meiji Kogei: Amazing Japanese Art,” shown at the following venues: Tokyo University of the Arts Museum, 2016.9.7-10.30. Hosomi Museum, Kyoto, 2016.11.12-12.25. Kawagoe City Art Museum, 2017.4.22-6.11. cat. no. 76.

Brought to you by

Priscilla Kong

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Lot Essay

Sato Kazuhide became an independent metal artist in 1876, producing work for the Imperial Household and international expositions, including the Paris Exposition of 1900. Also from Edo, he apprenticed under the metal masters Iwamoto Ikkan VII and Ozaki Kazuyoshi.
This type of vases with chrysanthemum crests of the Imperial Household were often presented from the Emperor or Imperial Household as an Imperial Gift during the Meiji period. For a pair of presentation vases with similar style in the Khalili collection, see Metalwork, vol. 2 of Meiji no Takara/Treasures of Imperial Japan: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, Oliver Impey and Malcolm Fairley, gen. eds. (London: The Kibo Foundation, 1995), no. 128.

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