A shakudo and mixed-metal panel and three copper and mixed-metal panels


Meiji (1868-1912) or Taisho (1912-1926) era, late 19th/ early 20th centuryAll worked in shishiai-bori, kebori and katakiri-bori and inlaid with shakudo, gold and silver, the first decorated with a traveler on a stormy night, signed Yoshihide to; the second with a woodsman crossing a bridge carrying bundles of sticks, signed Yoshihide to; the third decorated with a supernatural figure riding an ox and attended by several figures, signed Shinya to; the fourth decorated with auspicious items for the New Year celebration and a poem, signed Nanajugosai Jitokusai Ichiya to and with a sealThe first two with tomobako wood storage boxes inscribed, signed and sealed by the artist (4) 8 3/8 x 7 1/8in (21.2 x 18.1cm)
|This lot features the work of two generations of leading metalworkers: Sekiguchi Ichiya (1850-1933), and his son Sekiguchi Shinya (1877-circa 1932). Ichiya was trained under the last great Goto school master, Goto Ichijo (1791-1876) and considered himself to be a follower of the Goto tradition. Sekiya trained under his father, receiving instruction in chiseling and inlays, but it was during his apprenticeship with painter Hashimoto Gaho (1835-1908) that he developed his keen sense of pictorial design.For works by both father and son, see Bonhams, Birds and Flowers: A Special Exhibition of Masterpieces of Japanese Art from a Private Collection, New York, 2018, nos. 17 and 21.