Ɏ A NEATLY INCISED ‘SAWASA’ TRIPOD CENSER, GILT COPPER ALLOY AND GOLD, 18TH CENTURY

拍品描述

Ɏ A NEATLY INCISED ‘SAWASA’ TRIPOD CENSER, GILT COPPER ALLOY AND GOLD, 18TH CENTURY Expert’s note The term ‘Sawasa’ describes a distinctive and exceptionally refined tradition of metalwork produced in Japan, China, and Vietnam during the 17th and 18th centuries. Typically based on copper alloys related to Japanese shakudo, Sawasa wares are distinguished by their remarkable technical sophistication, combining a lustrous dark surface with intricately worked relief decoration, often enriched with fire-gilding and details in gold and silver. The finest examples rank among the most elaborate Asian export metalwork of the period, requiring considerable skill in casting, chasing, engraving, patination, and gilding. They were produced in a wide variety of forms, including tobacco and other small boxes, cups and saucers, ewers, and related luxury objects. Production is most closely associated with Nagasaki, although documentary and surviving material evidence also point to important centers in Canton (Guangzhou) and Tonkin (Hanoi). These objects emerged from the flourishing trade between Asia and Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries and were made largely for Dutch and other European patrons in Asia, combining Asian metalworking traditions with forms and functions tailored to European taste. As such, Sawasa represents a particularly sophisticated expression of the artistic exchange between East Asia and Europe during the early modern period. The compressed body divided into six lobes and raised on three tall waisted legs, flanked by twin mythical beast mask handles suspending loose rings made from pure gold, each lobe with a delicately gilt-incised scene including a fisherman in a boat under a willow and a leopard beside flowering prunus as well as floral and foliate designs, all reserved against a dark patinated ground below a petal-beaded rim. The rim, legs, and beast mask handles are richly gilt. Dimensions: Width 11.6 cm The Zitan wood cover of domed form and finely carved with swirling clouds, surmounted by an irregularly shaped carnelian finial evocative of a roaring Buddhist lion. The censer, cover, and finial form an original matching ensemble, conceived and made together as a whole rather than assembled or supplemented at a later date, a remarkably rare feature. (2) Literature comparison: Compare two Sawasa censers of similar form, illustrated by M. De Bruijn, Sawasa Japanese Export Art in Black and Gold, 1650-1800, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1998, p. 103, nos. E.1.1. and E.1.2; and an incense-stick holder with similar gilt-incised decoration illustrated ibid., p. 105, no. E.3.1. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s London, 11 November 2015, lot 618 Price: GBP 6,875 or approx. EUR 11,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of casting, parcel gilding, incised decoration, motifs, and size (11 cm). Note the simpler form and the different cover. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s London, 19 December 2014, lot 36 Price: GBP 17,500 or approx. EUR 30,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the material. Note the form and larger size (36.5 cm). This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.

图片