A Pair of Gilt-Lacquer takamaki-e Patinated Iron Vases

Japan, Meiji Period, 1880

Decorated in takamaki-e to depict a snake pursuing a frog amidst lotus blossoms and lily pads

Each vase: 18 ¼ in (46.5 cm) high

Following the decline of Japan’s military government in 1868, the Emperor Meiji was restored to power. Japanese artisans, particularly metalworkers, lost their traditional samurai patrons and were obliged to find new markets for their skills. Emerging from its feudal past, Japan developed as a modern industrialised and economic power. It employed western technicians and advisors to work with its own artisans in developing new and improved methods of production.

At the great international exhibitions that were in vogue in the 19th century, the Japanese displayed objects such as this attractive pair of vases that reflected their traditional arts and crafts, as well as other forms of manufacture. These vases demonstrate Japan’s traditional metalworking techniques such as bronze-casting, patination, decorative inlay and chasing. Such techniques had previously been used to great effect on arms and armour for the samurai, but here they are employed on purely decorative objects.

Takamaki-e is one of several lacquering techniques that were developed in Japan over centuries. It is a type of maki-e, or ‘sprinkled picture’ formed by adding gold or silver to the resin layers. Takamaki-e (‘raised maki-e’) was developed in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573); it is created by building up the layers above the surface using lacquer putty, white lead, lampblack, camphor, and gold or silver leaf. In these vases, the lacquering technique is mimicking traditional methods of bronze inlay, an exquisite display of the technical virtuosity of Japanese craftsmen in this period.

These vases illustrate the fascinating fusion of traditional Japanese techniques and themes. The decoration is inspired by naturalistic Japanese motifs with an emphasis on respect for nature, combining animals with plants. The snake and the frog on this vase are traditionally shape-shifters in Japanese folklore, the snake being a sinister figure, while the frog is a helpful creature who aids those who save it from the snake. One tale tells of a farmer who sees a snake chasing a frog. He begs the snake to stop, promising the animal his daughter in return. The snake stops and the frog escapes. Shortly after, a mysterious and unsettling bridegroom appears and begins courting the daughter. However, as she grows ill, her father grows concerned and seeks out a fortune teller, who says she must eat the eggs of an eagle nesting high on a mountain. The bridegroom goes to collect these eggs, but accidently turns back into a snake, causing the eagle to peck him to death. The father returns to the fortune teller and is told that now his daughter will be cured. The fortune teller explains that he is the frog the farmer helped, and wanted to repay the man’s kindness (Yanagita Kunio, Japanese Folk Tales, Fanny Hagin Mayer, pp. 11-12).

These vases illustrate the fascinating fusion of traditional Japanese techniques and themes. The decoration is inspired purely by naturalistic Japanese motifs with an emphasis on the respect for nature, both flora and fauna. Western artists were drawn to these themes, engendering the new style of ‘japonisme’ in France around 1880.