Lot description

A small lacquered-wood fubako (document box and cover)

By Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), Meiji Period
The cover of the elegant, narrow box is embellished with an itomari ball lying beside pine needles, in black, gold and red takamakie, skilfully rendered in a variety of textures, whilst the shitan-nuri box is decorated with a simulated crack that has undergone a skilful repair in the form of a butterfly-shaped cleat, the interior of dark olive-green lacquer, the inside of the bamboo cover with scratched signature Zeshin. 2cm x 21.3cm x 5.1cm (¾in x 8 3/8in x 2in). (2).

Footnotes

松葉に鞠図紫壇塗文箱　銘「是真」　明治時代

Provenance: F.A. Richards collection, purchased at Sotheby’s London, 1964.
Wrangham collection, no.344.

Shitan-nuri (rosewood lacquer) was one of the most complex surfaces that Zeshin invented. He is thought to have developed it during the 1840’s and 1850’s. The effect of the simulated repair is to suggest that the box is a treasured family heirloom, lovingly repaired and cherished through the ages and which perfectly suited its purpose.

Quoted from the lot page, © Bonhams. Bonhams, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art: Part I, 2010-11-09, lot 376 ↗

Context 解説

The maker

Shibata Zeshin was born in Edo on 15 March 1807. His father and grandfather were shrine carpenters and wood carvers, and his father had also studied ukiyo-e painting under Katsukawa Shunshō. At eleven Zeshin was apprenticed to the lacquerer Koma Kansai II. He was then sent to study painting with Suzuki Nanrei of the Shijō school, from whom he received the name Zeshin.¹

From our maker page, where each fact is footnoted: Shibata Zeshin 柴田是真.

Technique

The catalogue wording points to the following techniques, each explained on our Techniques page:

• Sprinkled-picture lacquer: “…an itomari ball lying beside pine needles, in black, gold and red takamakie , skilfully rendered in a variety of textures, whilst the shitan-nuri…”²

Where the price sits

At £74,400 (about US$120,312 at the sale-date rate), this lot ranks 28 of the 126 results in our database by US-dollar value, and 5 of 6 in lacquer, where the median is about US$176,202. Among the 6 results for this maker it ranks 5.²

Comparable records

Nearest in price by the same maker, from our database:

• Shibata Zeshin, Tonkotsu (tobacco container) with a gardener’s hut and bonsai: £96,000 (≈ US$156,144), Bonhams, 2011-05-12, lot 101.
• Shibata Zeshin, Two-case inrō with Hotei and metalwork tools: £120,000 (≈ US$196,260), Bonhams, 2011-05-10, lot 239.
• Shibata Zeshin, Shikishi-ban urushi-e: flower vase with flowering quince: £26,250 (≈ US$41,884), Bonhams, 2011-11-10, lot 251.