18ct Gold Meiji Period Cigarette Case by Unno Shomin (1844-1915)

As part of our Japanese works of art collection we are delighted to offer this incredibly rare Meiji Period (1868-1912) pure gold cigarette case by arguably the most famous metalworker of the period, Unno Shomin 1844-1915. Here Shomin has skilfully chiselled a scene of a boat upon a lake within a mountainous backdrop, to the shore a pavilion rests upon a rocky outcrop beneath the pine trees. Shomin has utilised angled chisels in a technique refered to as Katakiribori to simply represent ink brush painting. The case comes complete with its original retailers box with a label that translates to a shop in Tokyo called Sanoya, Nihonbashi Ningyo-cho Telephone: (66) 0481. An incredibly rare example of gold metalwork from one of only a handful of luminary Imperial metalworkers of the period.

Literature :

Unno Shomin is perhaps the most famous of the generation of metalworkers who started their careers in the sword-fitting workshops of the Mito fief; he moved to nearby Tokyo in the early Meiji era, changing his name from Motohira to Shomin. He showed great promise from an early age, studying calligraphy and painting in addition to chiseling, and was soon awarded the art-name Shomin, "superior to [So]min," in the expectation that his work would one day excel even that of Yokoya Somin (1670–1733), a famed mid-Edo-period master. After the samurai privilege of wearing two swords was revoked in 1876 he threw himself into the development of new types of products for both Japanese and international customers, exhibited frequently at expositions inside and outside Japan, served as a professor at Tokyo Art School, and in 1896 was appointed to the order of Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist-Craftsman to the Imperial Household). He had numerous accomplished disciples (for Shomin's biography, see Wakayama Homatsu, Kinko Jiten (Dictionary of Metalworkers), Tokyo, Yuzankaku, 1972, pp.54–55.

Provenance :

Japanese Collection.

Condition report :

Very Fine Condition .

Approximate sizes :

Width : 3 1/2"   9 cm

Height : 3 1/8"  8 cm

Weight : 126.4 gms of pure 18ct Gold .

Free fully insured worldwide delivery and a certificate of authenticity are included in the price of this item.

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