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Shibata Zeshin 柴田是真 (1807-1891) URUSHI-E (LACQUER PAINTING) OF A POMEGRANATE BRANCH, FRUIT ON A TRAY, AND A WATER PITCHER 柘榴水瓶図額装漆絵 Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1878 (2) image 1
Shibata Zeshin 柴田是真 (1807-1891) URUSHI-E (LACQUER PAINTING) OF A POMEGRANATE BRANCH, FRUIT ON A TRAY, AND A WATER PITCHER 柘榴水瓶図額装漆絵 Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1878 (2) image 2
Lot 11*

Shibata Zeshin 柴田是真 (1807-1891) URUSHI-E (LACQUER PAINTING) OF A POMEGRANATE BRANCH, FRUIT ON A TRAY, AND A WATER PITCHER 柘榴水瓶図額装漆絵
Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1878

The Misumi Collection of Important Works of Lacquer Art and Paintings: Part I
5 November 2014, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

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Shibata Zeshin 柴田是真 (1807-1891) URUSHI-E (LACQUER PAINTING) OF A POMEGRANATE BRANCH, FRUIT ON A TRAY, AND A WATER PITCHER 柘榴水瓶図額装漆絵

Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1878
Lacquer on paper, mounted as an album leaf and framed, depicting a pomegranate with its flowering branch resting on a seigaibon (circular metal serving tray) made from the alloy of copper and tin known as sahari, with a Chinese-style bronze mizutsugi (ewer) cast with low-relief ornament of hō-ō (phoenixes), these motifs executed in urushi in combination with a variety of kawari-nuri (special techniques) to convey the textures of the various utensils
Signed Gyōnen nanajūni Zeshin 行年七十二是真 (Zeshin, aged 72) with seal Tairyūkyo 対柳居
Overall 53.7 × 58.2 cm (21 1/8 × 22 7/8 in.)
Image 31.9 × 40.4 cm (12½ × 15 7/8 in.)
With wooden storage box
Exhibited and published: Nezu Bijutsukan 2012, no. 123
(2).

Footnotes

As noted by Tahira Namiko of the Nezu Museum in her catalogue entry for the 2012 Zeshin exhibition, Zeshin used very thick layers of lacquer to convey the colour and texture of the metalwork depicted here. This suggests that the present painting was always intended to be mounted as an album leaf rather than a hanging scroll, since rolling and unrolling might have caused the lacquer to crack. Zeshin's skill in sahari-nuri, presumably imitating the exotic copper-tin alloy employed to make the metal tray for tea-ceremony use shown here, was mentioned in a posthumous imperial eulogy (Earle 1996, p. 50). In addition to pictorial versions of sahari like the present example, he also made actual lacquer utensils that faithfully reproduce the metal's colour and texture (Nezu Bijutsukan 2012, no. 63). A similar example by a later artist, Tanaka Hyōami, is included in our sale of the Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art, Part V, 5 November 2014, lot 232. The composition as a whole is an eloquent expression of Zeshin's lifelong passion for the tea ceremony and its utensils.

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A STONEWARE FIGURE OF AN ONI SUPPORTING A CLOUD Japan, Edo period,
A PAIR OF MIYAO BRONZE FIGURES Japan, By the Miyao workshop, Meiji period, late 19th century,
THREE BAMBOO FLOWER BASKETS Taisho (1912-1926) or Showa (1926-1989) era, 20th century
OKAMOTO RYŌZAN FOR THE YASUDA COMPANY A Small Ceramic Vase and Cover Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1900
A GROUP OF FOUR JAPANESE BRONZES Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th century,
An Arita blue and white porcelain plate, Kanbun (1663–1673) or Enpô Era (1673 - 1681)
Ryoun: A SET OF SIX HIRADO PORCELAIN DISHES
A rare Arita rectangular sander, circa 1680-1700
A SMALL LACQUER FAN-SHAPED KŌBAKO (INCENSE CONTAINER) Edo period (1615-1868), 19th century,
A BOXWOOD OKIMONO OF TWO MONKEYS HANGING FROM A BRANCH Japan, 20th century,
A RECTANGULAR MIXED-METAL INLAID BOX WITH TIGER MOTIF Japan, 20th century,
A POLYCHROME WOOD CARVING OF RANRYO-O, THE PRINCE OF LANLING Japan, 19th century
A BRONZE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT LION Japan, Meiji period, late 19th century,
TWO ZUSHI (PORTABLE SHRINES) Edo period (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), 19th century,
A LARGE STONEWARE PLATTER Bizen Ware Showa (1926-1989) or Heisei (1989-2019) era, 20th/21st century
A NEGORO LACQUER CUP STAND AND A TEABOWL STAND Japan, Muromachi and Momoyama period,
ELEVEN KISERUZUTSU PIPE CASES Japan, 19th century,
EIGHT INRO Japan, 19th - 20th century,
SEVEN CERAMIC VESSELS AND A FIGURE Japan,
A WOOD BOKUTO IN THE FORM OF A COILED DRAGON Japan, Meiji period, 19th/20th century,
A SMALL LACQUER BOX Meiji (1868-1912) or Taisho (1912-1926) era, early 20th century,
SEVEN DECORATIVE VESSELS AND ACCESSORIES China and Japan, mostly 19th century,
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FOUR CERAMIC CUP STANDS AND A KOGO Japan, 19th/20th century