By Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910), after a design by Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918), signed Seitei with seal Seitei
Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Square in form with rounded corners, superbly decorated in vivid enamels and silver wire, to depict a blossoming cherry branch in the first light of morning, the tree trunk and fully opened flowers delicately rendered in the musen (wireless) technique, seamlessly merging with the soft, luminous tones of the ground, signed to the lower left SEITEI with seal Seitei, the back is unmarked but the tray was certainly executed by Namikawa Sosuke after a design by Watanabe Seitei. The underside of the tray decorated with pale yellow stylized auspicious birds interspersed among blossoming flower heads and additional foliage against a dark ground.

LENGTH 29.3 cm
WEIGHT 1.6 kg

Condition: Excellent condition with only minor surface wear and manufacturing-inherent irregularities such as a few dark spots.

With an associated padded silk storage box.

Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910), born in Tsurumaki, Shimosa Province (present-day Chiba Prefecture), was an eminent Japanese cloisonnE artist, who was especially renowned for pioneering a pictorial style of cloisonnE enameling known as 'musen', or wireless cloisonnE, developed around 1879, in which the traditional metal cloisons are absent or rendered virtually invisible. This innovation allowed him to blend colors and tonal gradations with remarkable subtlety, creating effects reminiscent of brush painting, although he occasionally employed fine wire to enhance compositional structure. While Sosuke frequently drew upon designs by prominent painters such as Watanabe Shotei (1851-1918), he was an accomplished artist in his own right, best known for the thirty-two cloisonnE plaques created for the reception room of the Geihinkan (formerly the Akasaka Detached Palace), a monumental commission that he completed shortly before his death after a decade of work.

Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918), also known as Watanabe Shotei, was a celebrated Nihonga painter, who was among the earliest Japanese artists to travel to Europe. He attended the International Exhibition in Paris in 1878, where his work was awarded a medal of distinction. Shotei developed a distinctive style that combined Western naturalism with the refined palette and fluid washes associated with the Kikuchi Yosai school, thereby introducing an innovative approach to kachoga (bird-and-flower painting). Following his return to Japan, he produced designs for ceramics and cloisonnE, collaborating with the cloisonnE master Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910), whose works were met with considerable acclaim in international contexts.

The association between Namikawa Sosuke and Watanabe Shotei, who was responsible for many of the designs used in cloisonnE works by Sosuke, is discussed in Oliver Impey [et al.], The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Japanese Art. Treasures of Imperial Japan: Enamel, 1995, p. 50-59. For related examples, see no. 86 and 87 in the same volume.

Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related cloisonnE enamel tray with a similar design of cherry blossoms, by Namikawa Sosuke after a design by Watanabe Seitei, 29.3 x 29.4 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 13 September 2017, New York, lot 1020 (sold for USD 31,250 or approx. EUR 36,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Compare a closely related damaged cloisonnE enamel tray depicting a similar design of moonlit cherry blossoms, by Namikawa Sosuke after a design by Watanabe Seitei, 28.5 x 28.5 cm, at Revere Auctions, 9 June 2021, Minnesota, lot 21 (sold for USD 11,250 or approx. EUR 11,700 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).