166 - SHUNSHO: A FINE TOGIDASHI LACQUER 'CHRYSANTHEMUMS' KOGO (INCENSE BOX)

SHUNSHO: A FINE TOGIDASHI LACQUER 'CHRYSANTHEMUMS' KOGO (INCENSE BOX) By a member of the Shunsho family, signed Shunsho with seal Mitsusada Japan, late 18 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of circular form, bearing a lustrous, fine gold-sprinkled roiro ground, exquisitely decorated in gold and silver togidashi-e with a profusion of flowering chrysanthemums (kiku). The blossoms, depicted in various stages of bloom, are rendered with finely delineated petals and surrounded by luxuriant foliage, the intricate composition extending continuously across the flush-fitting (inrobuta) cover and sides. Signed to the interior of the cover SHUNSHO with seal MITSUSADA. The underside and interior are finished in nashiji with fundame rims. DIAMETER 7.4 cm Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York. 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 minimal expected wear. The Shunsho family of lacquer masters was founded in the 17th century by Yamamoto Shunsho (d. 1682), establishing a distinguished tradition that continued through successive generations into the Meiji period. The family was particularly celebrated for its mastery of togidashi-e, a demanding technique in which lacquer designs are covered with additional layers and subsequently polished to reveal exceptionally subtle gradations of color and metallic brilliance. Although best known for their finely executed inro, the Shunsho masters also produced lacquer boxes, surviving signed examples of which are comparatively uncommon. Museum comparison: Compare a related tiered lacquer kogo (incense box) and cover by the same artist, signed Shunsho with seal, dated 1800-1875, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number W.129-1910. Auction comparison: Compare a related two-tiered lacquer jubako (stacking box) by a member of the Shunsho family, also decorated in fine togidashi, 19 x 14.3 x 9.2 cm, at Christie's, Japanese and Korean Art, 18 September 2007, New York, lot 246 (sold for USD 18,750 or approx. EUR 27,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).