181 - NAMIKAWA SOSUKE: A MAGNIFICENT AND LARGE MUSEN CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ‘SOLITARY EGRET’ VASE, AFTER A DESIGN BY WATANABE SEITEI

NAMIKAWA SOSUKE: A MAGNIFICENT AND LARGE MUSEN CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ‘SOLITARY EGRET’ VASE, AFTER A DESIGN BY WATANABE SEITEI By Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910), after a design by Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918), signed with the silver-wire Sakigake mark of Namikawa Sosuke Japan, c. 1890-1900, Meiji period (1868-1912) Of elegant ovoid form, the body gently tapering toward the foot, with high-rounded shoulders rising to a short, slightly waisted neck, fitted with shakudo mounts at the mouth and foot. The luminous pale-grey ground superbly worked in musen (wireless) cloisonné enamels to depict a solitary white egret, its head gracefully bowed and one slender leg raised against its body. The plumage is rendered with extraordinary delicacy, the subtly graduated white enamels creating the impression of individual feathers painted in fine washes, while the long, pointed beak, piercing eye, and slender legs are precisely articulated in colored enamels and fine wire. The bird is positioned asymmetrically against an expansive, virtually uninterrupted ground, its remarkable simplicity and generous negative space evoking the refinement of Japanese ink painting. The recessed base bears the silver-wire Sakigake mark against a deep maroon enamel ground. With a finely carved wood stand. HEIGHT 26.4 cm (excl. stand), 30.8 cm (incl. stand) WIDTH 18 cm (at shoulders) WEIGHT 2.5 kg (excl. stand), 2.7 kg (incl. stand) Provenance: Collection of Dr. Garrett Droppers (1860-1927), United States, and thence by descent. Sotheby's, Japanese Works of Art from Private Collections, 5 October 2023, London, lot 107 (estimate GBP 30,000-40,000). Dr. Garrett Droppers (1860-1927) was a distinguished American economist, academic, diplomat, and collector of Japanese art. From 1889 to 1898, he served as Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Tokyo University, during which time he developed a keen appreciation for Japanese ceramics, cloisonné enamels, and other works of art. He subsequently served as President of the University of South Dakota and, following his appointment by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, as United States Minister to Greece and Montenegro. The present vase has a distinguished early provenance through his collection, assembled during a remarkable period of artistic innovation in Japan. Condition: Excellent condition with no visible damage or signs of restoration (checked under UV light). The present vase brings together the genius of two masters of Meiji art: Watanabe Seitei, whose bird-and-flower paintings are celebrated for their naturalism and lyrical economy, and Namikawa Sosuke, who transformed cloisonné into a medium capable of rivaling painting. Seitei's designs found an ideal interpreter in Sosuke, whose revolutionary musen technique enabled him to capture the softness of feathers, the subtle play of light, and the expressive power of an almost empty ground. A particularly illuminating comparison is Seitei's Egrets at the Water's Edge, painted around 1887 and preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 1). The bowed head and raised leg closely recall the present bird, but Sosuke's interpretation takes this principle of restraint still further. Without water, reeds, or any suggestion of landscape, the egret appears suspended in space, its delicate silhouette commanding the entire surface. The seemingly effortless result required extraordinary technical mastery: the snow-white plumage is modeled in softly graduated enamels, while the eye, beak, and slender legs are articulated through minute accents of colored enamel and fine wire. The result possesses all the spontaneity and softness of a brush painting, achieved through the painstaking application and repeated firing of vitreous enamels. Auction comparison: Compare a pair of closely related cloisonné enamel vases decorated with egrets wading in a shallow pond, sealed Sakigake, by the workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, dated c. 1900, 31.7 cm high, at Christie's, Japanese and Korean Art including Arts of the Meiji Period, 15 September 2010, New York, lot 583 (sold for USD 146,500 or approx. EUR 200,000 for the pair, converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Due to length restriction on Drouot this entry is shortened. For full description please visit www.zacke.at.