A MORIAGE CLOISONNÉ BOWL SIGNED KAWADE (KAWADE SHIBATARO 1856-1921) IN A SILVER WIRE SEAL, OF GOURD-FORM, MEIJI PERIOD, LATE 19TH CENTURY | A Japanese cloisonne vase and stand

The deep bowl with indented quatrefoil-form silver rim, the four feet decorated with chased and stippled silver and green moriage enamel peony leaves, the grey enamel ground with various thicknesses of silver wire and coloured enamels of green, red, pink, white and ginbari, silver foil backing translucent enamels, depicting peacock feathers among open and closed peony sprays, the moriage of very fine thick form

Important German Collection

Overall the enamel dish is in very condition. There is minor wear to the base of the feet consistent with its use. There are two small areas of enamel loss on the underside of the rim, which probably occured in the firing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

When Japan reopened its trading relationship with the West in the 1850s, the enthusiasm for Japanese art swept over Europe and the United States. Following the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition and the 1873 Vienna World Exposition in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Japanese artefacts flooded European and Noth American shores. The expositions not only resulted in an exceptional commercial success but also ignited a great wave of appreciation for Japanese decorative art. This shift was both the cause and result of “Japonisme," a phenomenon of Japanese influence on Western art, following the country’s modernisation called the Meiji Restoration of 1868 (Meiji ishin). In this fertile environment, Japanese enamellists quickly mastered their craft and pushed the limits of both technology and artistic design to attract patrons in the international market.  Among the many genres of Japanese decorative art, none can be more precisely tied to the evolutional moment of the Meiji period than cloisonné enamel. Gradually, cloisonné occupied a position of great international importance in the decorative arts and was developed in an environment that was situated between the cultures of Japan and the West.

Decorative metal objects with applied cloisonné enamels are known in Japanese as shippō, meaning “seven jewels.” The term shippō was often used within Buddhist traditions, referring to valued commodities, including gold, silver, crystal, coral and pearls, which were traded along pilgrimage routes. As a decorative medium, Japanese cloisonné enamel was re-invented in an emerging exchange with Europe and America at the turn of the nineteenth century. The peak of artistic sophistication of Japanese cloisonné enamel lasted from around 1880 to 1910, a period often referred to as the Golden Age. During this period, there were hundreds of cloisonné enamel workshops to meet the demand of what was predominantly a western export market. Among those workshops, one of the most influential and productive was the Ando Cloisonné Company (Andō shippōyaki Ten). Founded by Ando Jubei in Nagoya in the 1880s, this company remains in business today as the last of the nineteenth century cloisonné companies in Japan.

The artisans of the Ando Cloisonné Company were active participators at international expositions in Europe and America around the turn of the century. They innovatively absorbed artistic trends of Western art of that time, such as Impressionism and Art Nouveau. During the Golden Age, Kawade Shibataro (1856-1921) headed the manufacture of the Ando Cloisonné Company. Kawade introduced and developed numerous technical innovations on which the sucess of Ando Company was based.

[Ando’s] reputation was established chiefly by the splendid work turned out by his chief enamel artist and designer, Kawade Shibataro, who is deservedly considered the greatest enamel expert in the manufacture of shippō at the present time. Perhaps no other living person has done more towards the improvement of Japanese enamels and the invention of new methods of application than Kawade. (Gregory Irvine, Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, (London, 2011), p. 39.)

Kawade’s major development was the moriage technique. Rather than remaining restricted to a two-dimensional surface, Kawade perfected the moriage relief decoration, which allowed him to explore modifications to the surface profile of objects. This innovative technique, which required extreme care, especially at the polishing stage, involved building up layers of enamels to produce a sculpted, three-dimensional effect and was ideally suited to subjects such as plants and flowers. Molding the branches of the budding plant around each of the vases in complementary directions, Kawade created a sculptural quality in the design that the moriage relief only enhances. This style of sculptural forms later became one of the signature features of works made at the Ando Cloisonné Company.

Kawade also ensured that his works were in the forefront of fashion in the international market and created this enamel bowl that comfortably harmonizes with Japan and the West. For instance, he incorporated peacock feathers, which were seen as an “exotic” design in Art Nouveau décor, among peony sprays. For an example of a vase of Kawade depicting peacock feathers, see: Jiro Harada, Japanese Art and Artists of Today, VI: Cloisonné Enamels, (The Studio, June 1911), p.276.  For a similar design of peacock feathers by the artist Kawade Shibataro, see Lawrence A. Coben and Dorothy C. Ferster, Japanese Cloisonné, pl.98 and Professor Jiro Harada, Japanese Art and Artists of Today, VI: Cloisonné Enamels, p.276.

Today, Kawade's works are housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession number: 1976.320.2), Victoria and Albert Museum (accession number: FE.33:1, 2-2011) and Dallas Museum of Art (accession number: 1993.86.25.1.FA).