Lot 76

Negoro ware’s three most distinctive qualities - its feeling of strength, born of its simple shapes and its black and red hues, the warmth of its lacquered surfaces, and its use of timber, a material that has been totally assimilated into Japanese life - blend to produce an aesthetic that both reflects the traditional genius for sculptural form and possesses a powerful appeal for contemporary viewers.

A Rare Negoro Sake Flask

Muromachi period (15th century)

Details

A Rare Negoro Sake Flask
Muromachi period (15th century)
Of assembled wood in the form of a circular drum with a short neck on bracket feet, both circular panels and feet of black lacquer, the sides with mokume [wood grain], the spout with ring in the form of a chrysanthemum and decorated in black and red lacquer, the foot edges in red lacquer
27cm. high

Brought to you by

Anastasia von Seibold

avonseibold@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3127

Lot Essay

For further examples and information about sake flasks, see:
Miho Museum and Kawada Sadamu ed., Shuurushi “Negoro” Chusei ni saita hana [Negoro: Efflorescence of Medieval Japanese Lacquerware], (Tokyo, 2013), p.268 and 360
Kawada Sadamu, Negoro Lacquer, (Kyoto, 1985), p.232 and p.326
Hosomi Kokoan, Negoro no bi [Beauty of Nogoro], (Osaka, 1966), p. 39, no. 35

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