A MASTERFUL SILVER AND CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL KORO, ATTRIBUTED TO HIRATSUKA MOHEI

A MASTERFUL SILVER AND CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL KORO (INCENSE BURNER AND COVER), ATTRIBUTED TO HIRATSUKA MOHEI
Attributed to Hiratsuka Mohei (born 1836), unsigned
Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)
The cup-form body set on a spreading foliate foot and rising to a tapered shoulder, flanked by two scroll-form handles, the interior fitted with a removable silver liner, surmounted by a domed cover with a floral finial. The body decorated with two shaped panels pierced and carved in high relief and worked in bright enamels and silver wire with a rooster and hen amid leafy chrysanthemums and peony to one side and two butterflies fluttering amid chrysanthemums and aster to the other, the cover similarly decorated with a single beatle amid chrysanthemum, prunus blossoms, and other flowers. The foot, handles, and shoulder worked in translucent enamels and silver wire with butterfly, floral, cloud, and geometric designs.
HEIGHT 14.7 cm
WEIGHT 516 g
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, few tiny dents, few light surface scratches.
The enamel work on this piece is by Hiratsuka Mohei
(b. 1836), who contributed similar decoration to several silver pieces in the Khalili and other collections (see Literature comparison).
Literature comparison:
For two similar examples of a metal koro and cover by Hiratsuka Mohei, see O. Impey, M. Fairley (eds.), Meiji No Takara: Treasures Of Imperial Japan: Metalwork Vol I, London 1995, nos. 61 and 62, in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, and for two more examples of a similar koro and cover, see the Sano Museum (ed.), Kindai Shippo no Hana, Meiji no Shippo, p. 98, nos. 144 and 145.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related silver and cloisonné enamel incense burner by Hiratsuka Mohei, 12.1 cm high, at Bonhams, 12 September 2018, New York, lot 1214 (
sold for 23,750 USD
).