TWO BIRD-SHAPED GOLD AND SILVER-DAMASCENED (KOFTGARI) STEEL BETEL NUTCRACKERS AN EYE FOR DETAIL: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ESTATE IN NORTHERN LONDON Northern India, late 19th and early 20th century Comprising a steel nutcracker in the shape of a phoenix or Persian simurgh with a long feathery tail and curved, drop-shaped wings, all inlaid with gold and silver koftgari work, the two tapering handles made of brass, 21cm long; and another similar, of more recent manufacture, inlaid in copper, silver and gold, 13.7cm long.

A SUPERB KOMAI-STYLE GOLD AND SILVER INLAID BRONZE VASE WITH MONKEYS A SUPERB KOMAI-STYLE GOLD AND SILVER INLAID BRONZE VASE WITH MONKEYS Japan, Kyoto, Meiji period (1868-1912) Of baluster form, supported on a spreading foot with slightly concave base, the straight shoulder surmounted by the short-waisted neck and galleried rim. Finely decorated in gold and silver nunomezogan and takazogan with two shaped panels enclosing numerous monkeys huddled together in various poses, some constituting the sambiki saru motif, also referred to as the three wise monkeys, using their hands to cover their own or each other’s ears, eyes, or mouth, the simians further well detailed with finely incised fur and gold eyes. The panels are reserved against a silver-inlaid ground of various brocade patterns, above stylized waves and dew drops at the foot, and below foliate scroll and chrysanthemum flowerheads to the shoulder, finely engraved clouds to the neck, and a silver-inlaid key-fret band around the rim. HEIGHT 16 cm WEIGHT 467 g Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and few tiny nicks. Provenance: From a private collection in southern Germany, acquired before 2007. The present vases are decorated in the manner of the famous Komai workshop of Kyoto. The Komai workshop is believed to have been founded in 1841, but it was only when Komai Otojiro I became its head, in 1865, that the company began to make the wares for which they were to become so famous. Under his leadership, the workshop specialized in intricate inlaid work of gold and silver into iron. In a promotional brochure from around 1915 his son, Komai Otojiro II (his father having retired in 1906) called his workshop the ‘pioneer of damascene work’ and describes the lacquering process of the characteristic black ground, which required kiln firing and burnishing. The Komai style developed with an increasingly pictorial central motif on a background of both geometric patterns and free illustrations of nature, life, and landscapes with elaborate repeating borders. Most of these central motifs illustrate stories from Japanese history or mythology, and the Komai family retains a number of design books in which can be found drawings for many of their works.