185 - GONDA HIROSUKE: A FINE MUSEN CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ‘MOUNT FUJI AMIDST CLOUDS’ VASE

GONDA HIROSUKE: A FINE MUSEN CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ‘MOUNT FUJI AMIDST CLOUDS’ VASE By Gonda Hirosuke (1865-1937), signed with the mark of Gonda Hirosuke Japan, early 20th century, Meiji (1868-1912) to Taisho period (1912-1926) Masterfully crafted, the baluster body tapering towards the foot and rising to high, rounded shoulders and a short, waisted neck, the mouth and foot fitted with silvered rims. The exterior finely worked in standard and musen (wireless) cloisonné enamels and silver wire, depicting a cluster of pine trees in the foreground, with the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji rising beyond rolling banks of clouds, the latter delicately rendered in subtle wireless enamels, all against a luminous sky-blue ground. The foot rim stamped with the artist’s mark in the form of a flaming tama (jewel) and the initials C.P.O. HEIGHT 17.9 cm WEIGHT 425.2 g Condition: Excellent condition with no restorations or repairs visible under UV light. A few small dents to the upper rim. Gonda Hirosuke (1865-1937) was adopted into the Gonda family in 1887 and trained under Hayashi Kodenji. He established his own enameling workshop in Nagoya in 1891 and later worked as a subcontractor for the Ando workshop, producing cloisonné enamels in a wide variety of sophisticated techniques. He received numerous awards at international expositions, including Paris (1889), Chicago (1893), St. Louis (1904), and Liège (1905), and became one of the leading figures of the golden age of Japanese cloisonné. The initials C.P.O. are consistent with the mark of the Central Purchasing Office, an organization of the United States Far East Command during the Allied Occupation of Japan. An official memorandum issued in 1949 records that merchandise purchased in Japan by the Central Purchasing Office for sale through authorized Post Exchange systems was marked ‘CPO’ in Roman letters before March 1949. The stamp is therefore a postwar distribution mark and does not indicate the date of manufacture of the present vase. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related musen cloisonné enamel vase by Gonda Hirosuke, similarly decorated with cranes in flight before Mount Fuji and crashing waves against a blue ground, Meiji or Taisho period, early 20th century, 40 cm high, at Bonhams, New York, 17 March 2021, lot 624 (sold for USD 6,375 or approx. EUR 7,100 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).