Pair of vases decorated with polychrome cloisonne enamel, marked with the imperial court chrysanthemum, height 43 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.
Namikawa Sosuke (1847–1910) is one of the most famous Japanese enamellers, receiving the title of Teishitsu Gigein (Imperial Artist) in 1896. The title Teishitsu Gigein was awarded by the imperial court only to the most renowned masters of their craft in various fields of artistic creativity. Masters who received the title of imperial artist had the right to depict on their products the coat of arms of the imperial house (mon) – a sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum. Works marked with the chrysanthemum mark were often given as diplomatic gifts during the Meiji period.
Pair of presentation vases decorated with enamel, height 44 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, circa 1895 1897, from the collection of the British Museum.This panel, a rare example of Namikawa Sosuke’s early painting style, executed in the traditional cloisonne technique, was exhibited at an exhibition in Boston in 1883.
It was Sosuke who pioneered the painterly style of enamel (around 1879), also known as musen-shippo, a wireless enamel in which the partitions are either absent or invisible. He was able to mix different colors and shades, creating the impression of a pictorial image, but at the same time his works also used cloisonné enamel (yusen-shippo), if the composition required it.
Tray with an image of a heron based on the drawings of Watanabe Seitei in a technique imitating ink drawing, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, 1890 1896, from the Halili collection.
Although Sōsuke often copied illustrations from famous artists such as Seitei Watanabe (1851-1918), he was a great artist himself. His most extensive work was the thirty-two oval enamel panels for the audience hall (hall of flowers and birds) of the Akasaka Palace guest house, which he completed shortly before his death after ten years of work.
Vase depicting cherry blossoms in the musen shippo technique, height 30.5 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, circa 1895, from the Halili collection.Pair of presentation vases decorated with cloisonné enamel, height 43 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Pair of presentation vases decorated with cloisonne enamel, height 37 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Vase decorated with enamel, depicting two lapwings, height 25.7 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Enamel tray depicting a turtle with a baby turtle after a drawing by Seitei Watanabe, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Vase decorated with enamel, depicting two partridges, height 36 cm, late 19th century.Enamel tray with an image of a swallow, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Vase depicting cherry blossoms in the Musen shippo technique, height 39.5 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, circa 1895, from the Halili collection.Enamel tray depicting Mount Fuji in morning sunlight using the Musen shippo technique, imitating sumi e ink painting, Namikawa Sosuke workshop, late 19th century.Enamel tray depicting a butterfly fluttering over thistle flowers, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Pair of enamel vases depicting flowers, height 56 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Enamel tray with an image of a rooster using the musen shippo technique, after a design by Watanabe Seitei, late 19th century.Enamel tray using the Musen Shippo technique with an image of a duck in flight against the background of the moon, late 19th early 20th centuries.Pair of enamel vases depicting crows on trees in a manner imitating ink drawing, height 60 cm, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, circa 1900, from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Pair of musen shippo enamel vases depicting herons, height 31.7 cm.Musen shippo enamel tray with a bird on a peach blossom branch, based on a painting by the seventeenth century artist Kano Tanyu, late 19th century.Musen shippo enamel tray depicting geese in flight, designed by Kinzan, workshop of Namikawa Sosuke, late 19th century.Vase decorated with musen shippo enamel, depicting poppies, height 25 cm.Enamel tray with images of geese after a drawing by Seitei Watanabe, late 19th century.Enamel tray depicting a dove on a snow covered branch.Pair of vases decorated with musen shippo enamel, depicting koi carps, height 36 cm, 1900.Enamel cigarette case with a picture of a heron, 1900.Enamel tray depicting a pheasant on a flowering branch, 1900.
