27 - KANSHOSAI TOYO: AN UNUSUAL THREE-CASE TSUISHU AND SHIRO URUSHI LACQUER ‘HO-O ABOVE PINE-SHADED PAVILIONS’ INRO

KANSHOSAI TOYO: AN UNUSUAL THREE-CASE TSUISHU AND SHIRO URUSHI LACQUER ‘HO-O ABOVE PINE-SHADED PAVILIONS’ INRO By Kanshosai Toyo, signed Kanshosai 観松斎 and kakihan Japan, 18 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of unusual rectangular form and section, bearing a rich, shimmering gyobu-nashiji ground, finely decorated in gold, silver, and iro-e takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, with applied carved tsuishu lacquer and enriched with gold kirigane. One side depicts two imposing pavilions nestled among craggy rocks and luxuriant pine trees, while the reverse is dominated by a majestic ho-o bird in flight, executed in the rarely encountered technique of shiro urushi (white relief lacquer), its sweeping wings and elaborate plumage rendered with exceptional precision. The interior cases are finished in fine nashiji with gold fundame rims. Signed to the underside in gold lacquer KANSHOSAI with kakihan. With a fine coral ojime. HEIGHT 7.7 cm, LENGTH 5.2 cm Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, United States. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple were married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Notably, they assembled an impressive collection of Japanese art, focusing on fine netsuke, inro, and lacquer. Condition: Excellent condition with only very minor wear and scattered typical losses to gyobu nashiji and kirigane flakes. Iizuka (Kanshosai) Toyo was a distinguished lacquerer and inro decorator active in Edo during the second half of the 18th century. He attracted a considerable number of followers and employed an unusually broad range of lacquer techniques and materials. Toyo’s oeuvre includes works of strikingly different character, from finely detailed pictorial decoration to compositions of bold formal simplicity. For further reference, see Edward A. Wrangham and Joe Earle (eds.), The Index of Inro Artists, 1995, pp. 312-313. Christie’s identifies Iizuka Toyo I as active in the 18th century and gives his dates as circa 1725-1790. Literature comparison: For another example of the use of shiro-urushi see an inro by Koma Kyuhaku illustrated in Paul Moss, Lac Lacquer Lacquest, 2014, p. 158-159, no. 49.