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An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 1
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 2
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 3
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 4
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 5
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 6
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 7
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 8
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 9
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 10
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 11
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 12
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 13
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 14
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 15
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 16
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 17
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 18
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 19
An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods image 20
Lot 1038

An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service
the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods

Fine Furniture, Silver, Decorative Arts and Clocks
26 October 2015, 10:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$31,250 inc. premium

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An assembled American sterling silver and Japanese mixed-metal kozuka flatware service

the dinner forks, pastry forks and soup spoons by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, the rest by other makers, manufactured fourth quarter 19th-early 20th century, some Kozuka signed mid-Edo to late Meiji Periods
With kozuka and kozuka style handles, comprising: by Tiffany & Co. 16 dinner forks, 16 round bowl soup spoons and 11 pastry forks; by other makers 12 dinner knives, 12 fruit forks and 12 fruit knives, a number of kozuka with signatures (79)
dinner fork length approximately 7 1/4in (18.5cm); length of dinner knife 9 1/4in (23.5cm).

Footnotes

In feudal Japan the tradition of adorning nihonto (swords) and tosogu (associated fittings) to display rank and wealth developed over centuries, reaching its apogee during the Edo Period. As the wakizashi (short sword), which could be worn by the Samurai and Chōnin class, overtook older style weapons as part of daily wear, it became a principal focus for display. Fitted in the saya (scabbard) of the wakizashi was a small kozuka (utility knife), often ornamented with a bronze and mixed-metal handle. These fitments became regarded among the Japanese as art objects in their own right. The subsequent opening of trade during the last years of the Tokugawa Shogunate fostered a taste for Japanese culture among the west, which included the complex craft of nihonto.

Japonisme blossomed in France, where the Japanese government and the New York luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. coincidentally hosted inaugural exhibitions at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867. This undoubtedly influenced Tiffany's design director, Edward C. Moore, who visited the Japanese pavilions and would go on to amass a collection of oriental art that inspired his creations. Tiffany incorporated Japanese artifacts among their wares on an expanded scale upon sending Christopher Dresser to Japan on a buying trip 1877. As Japonisme continued through the end of the 19th century, kozuka became increasingly collectible- even appearing as handles for Western style flatware, which Tiffany & Co. produced along with other firms including Gorham as well as a number of British silversmiths. Die-stamped kozuka style flatware was also manufactured.

Louisine Havemeyer, with her husband, Henry Osborne Havemeyer, the industrialist and entrepreneur, amassed a varied art collection beginning with purchases of Japanese ivories and sword furniture at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Louisine developed an affinity for kozuka. Of the more than 225 examples in her collection, 207 were bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She commissioned Tiffany & Co. to adapt 18 of them (in two separate orders, one group of 12 and another group of 6) into fish forks circa 1891-1907, which she ostensibly paired with mother-of-pearl or ivory handled knives, as was the norm of the day. The set of 18 was passed to daughter Electra Havemeyer and then to her grandson James Watson Webb Jr. It was sold along with his estate by Butterfields in December 2000.

William P. Hood Jr., in his article "Western dining implements with Japanese kozuka and kozuka style handles," The Magazine Antiques, January 2004, pp. 142-151, suggests that he knew of only one other set comparable to the Havemeyer's, which was disassembled circa 1989 (see endnote 30, p. 150). It would seem that the set offered here, fitted by Tiffany & Co. at the same time as the Havemeyer's, is the most extensive to yet come to auction.

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