by KAMISAKA Sekka (1866-1942), ITO Tozan II (1871-1937),
MIKI Hyoetsu (1877-1949)
Taisho/early Showa period, 1920-40
Gold, silver, lead and makie with glazed ceramic
25.5 x 10.3 x 3.5 cm.
Original signed & sealed tomobako
A highly stylised composition entitled iwao ni sokaku zu (Two Cranes and rock design) that depicts red-crowned Japanese cranes - one standing, the other sitting by a rock - set against a background of gold flakes indicative of snowfall. Within the box a plain red lacquer interior holds the simple black suzuri, a golden suiteki in the stylised form of the lucky, wish-granting hammer, uchide no kozuchi, carried by the iconic deity Daikoku-ten, and two original brushes.
As was common in early 20th-century Kyoto, the work is a collaboration between three leading artists of the time - the designer Kamisaka Sekka, ceramicist Ito Tozan II and lacquer artist Miki Hyoetsu I. Each had an illustrious pedigree. Sekka has been credited as the pioneer of modern design in Japan, reviving the early Edo period Rinpa style established by Koetsu, and re-invigorating Japanese artistic traditions across a range of media. Ito Tozan II succeeded his father-in- law - the imperial ceramic artist Ito Tozan I - in 1920, to head this highly respected family business. Miki Hyoetsu, son of a samurai family, had moved to Kyoto in 1895, gaining a reputation for delicate and subtle work. His prize-winning works were regularly exhibited nationally, and shown internationally at the 1900 Paris World Exposition.
Another example of this piece is recorded in Kamisaka Sekka: Rimpa Master – Pioneer of Modern Design, 2003, Item 138, pp 167, and was shown in the 400-year retrospective exhibition Rinpa Image at the Kyoto Museum of Modern Art in late 2015