Beschreibung:

Lot details Attributed to Ohashi San'emon (1851-1895), unsigned Japan, Takaoka, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Finely decorated in gold, silver, and shakudo takazogan, each censer of compressed globular form, inlaid to one side with a winged mythical beast chasing a ribboned vase and to the other with a ribboned vase flanked by a fan and a reishi cloud, the shoulder applied with baku-form handles suspending loose gold rings, the domed cover decorated with gold-inlaid swirling clouds above a lappet border and surmounted by a baying kirin, raised on three elongated legs encircled by three-clawed dragons and centered by a gold tama, above an elaborately cast and openworked tiered hexagonal base. HEIGHT 38 cm and 37.5 cm WEIGHT 2,802 and 2,816 g Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and few minuscule nicks. The history of casting copper alloys in Takaoka, the provincial capital of Etchu (present day Toyama Prefecture), is reputed to date to the early Edo period, the industry encouraged by the local feudal government as a source of income. Around 1830, new sales venues were developed, extending from Edo city to the northern-most part of the Japanese archipelago, eventually expanding to overseas export markets during the Bakumatsu era. Compare the design of the present koro to a drawing of a koro made by Ohashi San'emon in Meiji 27 (1894) to celebrate the 25th year wedding anniversary for the Meiji Emperor.