Vase thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Japan, Room 45, The Toshiba Gallery

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Vase

c.1910-20 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The copper body has an applied blackened silver rim and silver base plate with the jungin mark. The deep blue (almost purple) enamel ground is decorated with flowering and trailing paulownia (kiri in Japanese). The stylised flowers have been executed in silver yusen and totai-jippo translucent enamels in shades of orange, white and purple. The leaves, which are more naturalistic in appearance, are executed in exquisitely shaded silver yusen green enamels. The treatment of the flowers and leaves and their placement against a large expanse of shiny black create a simple yet effective composition. The counter-enamel is the same shade as the exterior, although less polished, and the base has a matt olive coloured enamel with the applied silver yusen mark of the Ando Company. Paulownia has a special significance in Japan, where its leaves and flowers were historically used as the family crest of the imperial family and later of the military shogunate. For another illustration of this vase see Fairley, Japanese Enamels of the Meiji Era no. 54. See Coben & Ferster, Plate 1 for another vase by Ando Jubei of similar shape and technique.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Stand
  • Vase
Materials and techniques
Cloisonné enamel vase decorated in silver <i>yusen</i> (with wire) enamels and <i>totai-jippo</i> (a technique where a design is cut into the body of the vessel before enamelling).
Brief description
Cloisonné enamel vase decorated with paulownia flowers, mark of the Ando Company, Nagoya, Japan, c.1910-20.
Physical description
Cloisonné enamel vase decorated with paulownia flowers bearing the mark of the Ando Company. The vase has a copper body with an applied blackened silver rim and silver base-plate with jungin (pure silver) mark.
Dimensions
  • Height: 24cm
  • Diameter: 14cm
Content description
paulownia, flowers
Marks and inscriptions
(Mark of the Ando Company.)
Gallery label
Vase with paulownia flowers 1910–20 The Andō Company was one of Japan’s most prolific and innovative manufacturers of cloisonné enamels. This vase was made using a technique known as tōtai-jippō. Small sections of the copper body were cut away and filled with translucent enamel. Mark of the Andō Company Nagoya Copper with cloisonné enamels and translucent enamels (tōtai-jippō) Edwin Davies Gift Museum no. FE.66-2011 (04/11/2015)
Credit line
Given by Edwin Davies
Summary
The copper body has an applied blackened silver rim and silver base plate with the jungin mark. The deep blue (almost purple) enamel ground is decorated with flowering and trailing paulownia (kiri in Japanese). The stylised flowers have been executed in silver yusen and totai-jippo translucent enamels in shades of orange, white and purple. The leaves, which are more naturalistic in appearance, are executed in exquisitely shaded silver yusen green enamels. The treatment of the flowers and leaves and their placement against a large expanse of shiny black create a simple yet effective composition. The counter-enamel is the same shade as the exterior, although less polished, and the base has a matt olive coloured enamel with the applied silver yusen mark of the Ando Company. Paulownia has a special significance in Japan, where its leaves and flowers were historically used as the family crest of the imperial family and later of the military shogunate. For another illustration of this vase see Fairley, Japanese Enamels of the Meiji Era no. 54. See Coben & Ferster, Plate 1 for another vase by Ando Jubei of similar shape and technique.
Bibliographic references
  • Japanese Cloisonne Irvine, Gregory. Japanese Cloisonné. (London:V&A Publications, 2006), p. 117.
  • Japanese Cloisonne Enamels Irvine, Gregory. Japanese Cloisonné Enamels. (London: V&A Publishing, 2011). pl. 46.
Other number
ED 300 - Edwin Davies collection number
Collection
Accession number
FE.66:1, 2-2011

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Record createdFebruary 16, 2011
Record URL
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