75 - ISHIGURO MASAYOSHI: A SUPERB SUAKA AND SHIBUICHI ‘ONNA SAN NO MIYA’ MIRROR-FORM TSUBA

ISHIGURO MASAYOSHI: A SUPERB SUAKA AND SHIBUICHI ‘ONNA SAN NO MIYA’ MIRROR-FORM TSUBA By Ishiguro Masayoshi (1775-1862), signed Jugakusai Ishiguro Masayoshi with kakihan Japan, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of unusual kawarigata form, ingeniously modeled after a lobed bronze mirror, the polished shibuichi migakiji ground superbly worked in gold, silver, and iro-e takazogan, depicting the Third Princess (Onna San no Miya) partially emerging from behind a finely rendered bamboo blind (misu), her delicate face and richly patterned robes revealed as she gazes toward her spotted cat resting in the foreground. A magnificent peony blossoms below, its delicately modeled petals and contrasting dark foliage adding depth to the composition. The reverse masterfully worked in takabori to emulate the decorated back of an ancient Chinese bronze mirror of Tang-dynasty type, depicting three majestic ho-o (phoenixes) soaring amid billowing clouds. Signed JUGAKUSAI ISHIGURO MASAYOSHI with kakihan. HEIGHT 9 cm, WIDTH 8.9 cm HEIGHT 2.5 cm (nakago-ana) THICKNESS 0.4 cm (seppa-dai) WEIGHT 184 g Provenance: Christie's London, 13 July 2006, lot 182. From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, United States, acquired from the above. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer who took over his parents' antique business in Manhattan and established the celebrated Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before their marriage in 1975. Together, they assembled a distinguished collection over more than half a century and became important patrons of the arts, supporting institutions 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. Their Japanese art collection was particularly notable for its fine netsuke, inro, and lacquer. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. With a padded storage box. Ishiguro Masayoshi (1775-1862) is listed in Robert E. Haynes, The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists, p. 1004 (H 04887.0). A distinguished master of the Ishiguro school, Masayoshi was a retainer of the Shimazu daimyo of Satsuma and worked at their residence in Edo. He studied under Sano Naoyoshi and the first Ishiguro Masatsune. The present tsuba illustrates a pivotal moment from Chapter 34, Wakana no Jo (New Herbs, Part One), of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. When the Third Princess's pet cat escapes and inadvertently lifts a bamboo blind, the young courtier Kashiwagi catches a forbidden glimpse of Genji's wife and falls hopelessly in love, setting in motion one of the novel's great tragedies. The artist captures this fleeting moment with remarkable ingenuity, revealing only a tantalizing glimpse of the princess behind the meticulously worked blinds, effectively placing the viewer in Kashiwagi's position. Equally ingenious is the tsuba's unusual mirror form, its reverse faithfully recalling the elaborate bronze mirrors of Tang-dynasty China (618-907), which were introduced to Japan and subsequently reproduced during the Heian period. The connection is both historical and poetic: an object associated with reflection and seeing becomes the vehicle for a tale centered on an accidental, forbidden glimpse.