6th Dec, 2024 10:00
Fine Japanese Art
7
TAKAMURA KOUN: AN IMPRESSIVE OKIMONO OF TWO ROCK CRYSTAL SPHERES ON A FINE BRONZE WAVE-FORM STAND
Sold for €3,640
including Buyer's Premium
By Takamura Koun (1852-1934), signed Koun
Japan, early 20th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) to Taisho period (1912-1926)
The two crystals are carved and polished into perfect spheres and balanced on a bronze stand intricately cast as crashing waves neatly incised and well-detailed with meticulously modeled cresting foam. Signed to the underside within a rectangular reserve KOUN.
LENGTH 21.5 cm (the stand), DIAMETER 9 cm and 5.2 cm (the spheres)
WEIGHT 2,083 g (total)
Condition: Very good condition with surface wear and casting irregularities. The rock crystal spheres with natural imperfections.
A key figure in the development of Japanese sculpture in the later Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras, Takamura Koun started his career as a specialist carver of Buddhist images and came to international attention in 1877 when he showed a sandalwood figure of the White-robed Kannon at the first Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Industrial Exhibition). The figure was purchased by a Yokohama merchant for a high price and from that time on Koun increasingly produced work in a style designed to suit changing tastes in Japan and overseas, participating in foreign expositions and receiving many important official commissions. His most famous works are public statues of Kusunoki Masashige, outside the Imperial Palace, and of Saigo Takamori, at the entrance to Ueno Park. In October 1890 he became one of the first two sculptors to be appointed Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist to the Imperial Household). For a more detailed assessment of Koun's well-documented career, see Christine M. E. Guth, 'Takamura Koun and Takamura Kotaro: On Being a Sculptor', in Melinda Takeuchi ed., The Artist as Professional in Japan, Stanford, 2004, pp.152-179.
The present spheres were made entirely by hand in a laborious process. The final hand polishing, using finely powdered iron oxide, gave these spheres a luster rarely achieved using modern gem-polishing machinery. Rock crystal symbolizes purity and perfection, while the sphere represents completeness and the infinity of space.
Museum comparison:
Compare a related silver stand in the form of crashing waves, accompanied by the third largest crystal sphere in the world, diameter 25.4 cm, formerly in the collection of the Dowager Empress Cixi, in the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, accession number C681A.
Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related rock crystal sphere on a Japanese metalwork stand, signed Eiryusai saku, at Christie’s, 20 September 2013, New York, lot 1772 (sold for USD 23,750).
By Takamura Koun (1852-1934), signed Koun
Japan, early 20th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) to Taisho period (1912-1926)
The two crystals are carved and polished into perfect spheres and balanced on a bronze stand intricately cast as crashing waves neatly incised and well-detailed with meticulously modeled cresting foam. Signed to the underside within a rectangular reserve KOUN.
LENGTH 21.5 cm (the stand), DIAMETER 9 cm and 5.2 cm (the spheres)
WEIGHT 2,083 g (total)
Condition: Very good condition with surface wear and casting irregularities. The rock crystal spheres with natural imperfections.
A key figure in the development of Japanese sculpture in the later Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras, Takamura Koun started his career as a specialist carver of Buddhist images and came to international attention in 1877 when he showed a sandalwood figure of the White-robed Kannon at the first Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Industrial Exhibition). The figure was purchased by a Yokohama merchant for a high price and from that time on Koun increasingly produced work in a style designed to suit changing tastes in Japan and overseas, participating in foreign expositions and receiving many important official commissions. His most famous works are public statues of Kusunoki Masashige, outside the Imperial Palace, and of Saigo Takamori, at the entrance to Ueno Park. In October 1890 he became one of the first two sculptors to be appointed Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist to the Imperial Household). For a more detailed assessment of Koun's well-documented career, see Christine M. E. Guth, 'Takamura Koun and Takamura Kotaro: On Being a Sculptor', in Melinda Takeuchi ed., The Artist as Professional in Japan, Stanford, 2004, pp.152-179.
The present spheres were made entirely by hand in a laborious process. The final hand polishing, using finely powdered iron oxide, gave these spheres a luster rarely achieved using modern gem-polishing machinery. Rock crystal symbolizes purity and perfection, while the sphere represents completeness and the infinity of space.
Museum comparison:
Compare a related silver stand in the form of crashing waves, accompanied by the third largest crystal sphere in the world, diameter 25.4 cm, formerly in the collection of the Dowager Empress Cixi, in the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, accession number C681A.
Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related rock crystal sphere on a Japanese metalwork stand, signed Eiryusai saku, at Christie’s, 20 September 2013, New York, lot 1772 (sold for USD 23,750).
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