SIGNED ON A SILVER TABLET KYOTO NAMIKAWA, MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY)

This is an example of the work of Yasuyuki in his mature period. The subject of birds perched in and flying around a flowering cherry tree depicted in a free composition which covers the surface of the vase is among his finest work. The silver wires are sculpted so as to vary in width in simulation of brush painting. Similar pieces are to be found in Japanese Imperial Craftsmen: Meiji Art from the Khalili Collection, (British Musuem Press, 1994), and another vase was acquired by the Japanese Imperial Household in 1899, see Nippon no Bijutsu (Tokyo, Shibundo, 1969), no.41 and The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Kogei: A View of a Century of Modern Japanese Crafts (Tokyo, 1987), p.66, no.43