212 - KINKOZAN: A FINE AND LARGE SATSUMA CERAMIC ‘BIJIN-GA AND KACHO-GA’ VASE

KINKOZAN: A FINE AND LARGE SATSUMA CERAMIC ‘BIJIN-GA AND KACHO-GA’ VASE By the Kinkozan company, signed Kinkozan zo Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) Finely potted, the hexagonal faceted body rising from a short, gently splayed foot through high angular shoulders to a subtly waisted neck with a circular mouth and thickened rim. The exterior exquisitely decorated in vivid polychrome enamels and gilt with two large opposing rectangular panels. One depicts two elegantly dressed beauties and a young girl in a luxuriant garden of chrysanthemums beneath flowering cherry branches, while the other is painted with a rooster and hen amid abundant flowering plants and beneath a further blossoming cherry tree. The pictorial reserves are framed by richly gilt foliate ornament and fluttering butterflies against a lustrous deep cobalt-blue ground, the sumptuous decoration continuing across the foot, shoulders, and neck. The latter is further embellished with an array of mon (family crests) and intricate geometric and floral borders. The underside signed in gilt within a square reserve KINKOZAN zo [made by Kinkozan]. HEIGHT 30.7 cm Condition: Excellent condition, with no restorations or repairs visible under UV light. Only very minor typical rubbing to the gilding and tiny non-distracting losses to the painted decoration. The Kinkozan company was among the most successful producers of so-called Kyo-Satsuma (Kyoto Satsuma) wares. Like their counterparts in Osaka, Yokohama, and Tokyo, Kinkozan’s production reflects Kyoto’s response to strong Western demand for finely painted Japanese ceramics during the Meiji period. Following the international exposure of Japanese art at the Paris Exposition of 1867, the rise of Japonisme in Europe led to a significant increase in exports, with Kinkozan wares admired for their delicate brushwork, refined compositions, and harmonious use of color and gold. The exquisite decoration of the present vase juxtaposes bijin-ga, depictions of elegant beauties, with kacho-ga, images of birds and flowers, two of the most enduring themes in Japanese pictorial art. Framed by a deep cobalt-blue ground densely enriched with gilded ornament, the spacious pictorial reserves create a striking interplay between intimate naturalistic imagery and the sumptuous decorative vocabulary characteristic of Kinkozan’s finest Meiji-period production. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related larger Satsuma hexagonal vase, by Fuzan for the Kinkozan Company, 40 cm high, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 12 May 2011, London, lot 136 (sold for GBP 6,600 or approx. EUR 12,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).