Bowl

Bowl Japan About 1865-1870 Copper, brass, cloisonné enamel Height 8.8 cm x diameter 19.1 cm 680-1901

The bowl shows all the indicators of an early example of Japanese cloisonné enamels with its heavily applied semi-matt enamels and thick brass wire. The decoration is of four Chinese philosophers (one is just visible in the photograph) and, in the interior, a dragon all these on a ground of stylised clouds and abstract floral motifs. Curiously, the interior of the bowl is very rough and appears to have been only partially polished.

It is fitting that the V&A should have acquired 'Bowes Collection, Enamels No.1'. James Lord Bowes (1834-1899) had acquired a large collection of Japanese art, including numerous pieces of cloisonné enamels, and was among the earliest of collectors in the West to write in detail on this subject. He had extremely adamant views about the history and development of Japanese cloisonné, almost all of which were totally wrong. He classified Japanese enamels into groups which, under his scheme, placed many objects in the eighteenth, or even seventeenth centuries. While his views were criticised by many of his contemporaries for being totally out of keeping with what was already known at the time, many of his ideas persisted right up to the late twentieth century.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1870-1880 Copper, brass and cloisonné enamel Height 8.6 cm 1274-1886

This small vase and its pair can be described as probable early examples of the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki. However, in comparison with that other pair of vases, here the tight overall application of the brass wires and the polychrome cloisonné enamel colour scheme perhaps show further some technological advances and the surface of the vases is here more regularly covered with wires. The area below the rim and above the base-plate are both elegantly decorated with stylised chrysanthemum. The black enamel and the butterflies found on the central band of the vases were both later to be key features of the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1870-1880 Copper, brass and cloisonné enamels Height 55.3 cm 1271-1886

This is one of a pair of very large vases each with three panels depicting different scenes in brass wire and cloisonné enamels. We know little of the donor of these pieces but, stylistically, they could not have been made much before they were bequeathed to the V&A. The scene shown on the central panel of this vase closely resembles the type of image which would have been found on Japanese prints of this period. Two people are seen washing giant radishes (Japanese: daikon) in a river by a rustic cottage. The borders of the panel form a large abstract lucky Seven Treasures (Japanese: shippo) motif and the whole vase is completely covered with abstract geometric and floral patterns as well as large butterflies and the mythical phoenix-like Ho-o bird.

Lidded vessel

Lidded vessel Japan About 1890 Copper, brass, silver, cloisonné enamel Height 21.6 cm 614-1894

The original register entry for this vase clearly states that it was made by 'Nami-Kawa of Kioto' [sic] when from the style and method of application of the brass and silver wires as well as the colouring and application of the cloisonné enamels, it is evidently of Nagoya manufacture. The vase is elaborately decorated in cloisonné enamels with dragons on the lid and on the central band; the shoulders have alternate panels of stylised mythical killer-whales (Japanese: shachi), a creature long associated with Nagoya and the stylised mythical phoenix-like bird known in Japanese as the Ho-o. The lower area of the vase has lappets containing further examples of this exotic bird. Smaller areas of the vase are decorated with bands containing geometrical motifs.

Dish

Dish Japan About 1880 Copper body, brass wires, cloisonné enamel Diameter 30.5 cm 237-1881

At first sight, from the style of decoration this object might well be described as Nagoya work, but V&A records state that this dish, purchased from Okura & Co. of Fenchurch Street London for the princely sum of £11.5s.0d, was made in Yokohama. The wires are all brass and the central panel is decorated in cloisonné enamels on a black enamel ground with a samurai in full armour, seated on a tiger-skin and carrying a sword, bow and war-fan. The armour is of the medieval type which was briefly revived for ceremonial use in the early nineteenth century. The warrior is surrounded by panels of geometric diaper patterns in polychrome enamels. The back of the dish has a rich blue ground decorated with brass wire scrolls and stylised flowers. The inner foot is decorated with three butterflies in Nagoya-style polychrome enamels. The rim and foot ring are both of gilded copper.

Vase

Vase Japan 1870-1880 Copper, brass and cloisonné enamel Height 8.6 cm 360-1880

This small vase, one of a pair, has a transparent brown enamel ground almost totally covered with a brass wire decoration of stylised clouds, Japanese cranes, chrysanthemums and pine-boughs. The cranes and pines are both symbols of longevity. The rims and foot-rings are of gilded copper. The style of decoration and method of enamelling on these vases are all indicative of the early work of the Kyoto-based cloisonné artist Namikawa Yasuyuki. That they might be of Kyoto origin was first suggested by Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1906) when he visited the V&A in 1886 to assess the Museum's Japanese collections. Hayashi had studied at what is now Tokyo University and in 1878 served as an interpreter at the Paris Exposition; he stayed on in Europe and became a significant dealer and advisor on Japanese art.

Brazier

Brazier Japan About 1865-1870 Copper, silver, cloisonné enamels Height 27.9 cm 1121-1875

This unusual object was part of a large purchase of objects from the Paris-based dealer, Siegfried Bing. While the rims (Japanese: fukurin) of dark silver and the ivory knobs in the shape of lion-dogs (Japanese: shishi) are clearly Japanese, the wiring, enamelling and style of decoration are problematic. The twisted silver wire together with the bat and cloud motifs which are proud of the surface of the vessel all show a strong Korean influence. The pale shiny blue ground and the exotic, or mythical phoenix-like bird, perhaps of the type known in Japanese as a Ho-o, clearly show Chinese influence. Many pieces acquired from Bing present similar problems. On balance, it might be safe to say that this object could represent a fusion of ideas and techniques in the early stages of the development of cloisonné enamels in Japan.

Dish

Dish Japan About 1865-1870 Copper, brass wire cloisonné enamels Diameter 24.7 cm 595A-1875

The dish is decorated in cloisonné enamels with a central roundel of a butterfly and flowers, perhaps dandelion (Japanese: tampopo), contained within another roundel. The surface of the dish is divided into panels containing floral motifs with finely applied wires delineating abstract cloud motifs. These small conventional shapes help contain the enamels during the firing process. It can be said with reasonable certainty that the dish cannot have been more than a few years old at the time of acquisition and is typical of the types of cloisonné enamels being produced in and around Nagoya at that time.

Dish

Dish Japan About 1865-1870 Copper, brass wires and cloisonné enamels Diameter 54.1 cm 326-1872

The dish is decorated in brass wires on a ground of cloisonné enamels which depict stylised floral and geometrical motifs with the main design consisting of two dragons fighting for the sacred Buddhist pearl of wisdom. The underside of the dish has panels of birds against a similar ground. Although unsigned, the cloisonné artist Ando Jubei, on the occasion of his visit to the V&A in 1910, declared that the piece had been made by Kaji Sataro, son of Kaji Tsunekichi, the man responsible for the renaissance of cloisonné making in Japan around 1840. The dish certainly bears all the characteristics of having been made around that period.

Tiered food box (Japanese jubako)

Tiered food box (Japanese jubako) Japan About 1860 Copper body, cloisonné enamels Height 19.7 cm 895-1869

This vessel was purchased at the Paris International Exposition of 1867 for the extremely high price of £60.00. The workmanship of this piece, however, is more extensive and all of the bases of the tiers are enamelled with Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa) scrolls and fans; the lower base of this food box has an applied mosaic-like Japanese character for 'Good Luck' in coloured enamels. The top of the lid has a scene of cranes and pines, both symbols of longevity, on the legendary mountain-island Horai, a place of eternal youth and immortality.

We do not know who made this piece, but it is most likely to have been produced in Nagoya, possibly even by Kaji Tsunekichi, the craftsman responsible for the renaissance of Japanese cloisonné enamels around 1840.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1900 Hammered copper body with applied cloisonne enamel decoration Height 8.9 cm 174-1901

A group of six vases showing the basic processes of cloisonné manufacture. (From top left) The design is drawn in ink onto the metal body; fine wires are bent or hammered into shape, glued along the lines of the design and then fired to fuse the wires to the metal body; coloured enamels are pasted into the cloisons, the wires sitting proud of the body. (From bottom left) After the first firing (800° - 900°C) the paste melts and contracts so several additional application of paste may be required; after each firing surplus hardened enamel is removed and the marks ground down before the next layer is applied; finally, after the cloisons have been filled to the required depth, the surface is ground until the edges of the wires are revealed, and the whole piece is then polished. This final stage can take several months to complete.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1870-1880 Copper, brass and cloisonné enamel Height 8.6 cm 1274A-1886

This small vase and its pair (museum number 1274-1886) are stylistically very similar to another pair in the V&A's collection (museum numbers 360&A-1880). Both pairs of vases can be described as probable early examples of the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki. However, in comparison with that other pair of vases, here the tight overall application of the brass wires and the polychrome cloisonné enamel colour scheme perhaps show further some technological advances and the surface of the vases is here more regularly covered with wires. The area below the rim and above the base-plate are both elegantly decorated with stylised chrysanthemum. The black enamel and the butterflies found on the central band of the vases were both later to be key features of the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki.

Dish

Dish Japan 1890-1910 Copper body, cloisonné enamel decoration Diameter 21.6 cm M.208-1917

The copper body of this dish has been decorated with silver wire cloisonné enamel designs on a pure white enamel ground; the rims and foot-ring are of plain burnished copper. The shape, decorative style and colouring of the dish closely copy eighteenth century Japanese Nabeshima-style porcelain which had gained popularity with Westerners in the late nineteenth century. The cloisonné enamel decoration of the dish which consists of geometric patterns with key-fret and stylised waves together with scrolling karakusa (Chinese grass) foliage are all typical of decorative elements found on Nabeshima-ware.

This type of work is typical of the cloisonné enamels being produced in and around Nagoya in the latter decade of the nineteenth century, although there were some other cloisonné makers in Yokohama producing similar fine enamelled dishes at this time. In 1871 the Nagoya Cloisonné Company (Nagoya Shippo Kaisha) was established at the village of Toshima, just outside Nagoya. So many cloisonné-manufacturing companies sprang up in and around Toshima that the area, which rapidly became Japan's main centre of cloisonné production, came to be known as Shippo-mura (Cloisonné Village) or Shippo-cho (Cloisonné Town). It has been estimated that at their peak the cloisonné manufacturers of Toshima were producing no less than seventy percent of the total cloisonné enamels produced in Japan.

Door pull

Door pull Japan About 1700 Gilded bronze with cloisonne enamel decoration Height 9.1 cm x width 8.0 cm M.283-1912

Unsigned door-pull (Japanese: hikite). The gilded bronze door-pull is of the four-lobed shape known in Japanese as mokkogata. It is decorated in champlevé (Japanese: zogan) enamels and is of the type manufactured from relatively early periods in Japan. Objects such as this would have been used for the sliding panels (Japanese: fusuma) found in a traditional Japanese dwelling. An object of such high quality as this would be from a residence of a high-ranking individual.

There are relatively few examples of early Japanese enamelling except for some small door fittings with enamelled designs in the Phoenix Hall (dedicated in 1053) of the Byodoin Temple in Uji, to the south of Kyoto, and the cloisonné enamel-decorated architectural fittings used by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-90) when building his Higashiyama retreat in eastern Kyoto (now the Ginkakuji temple).

Kettle

Kettle Japan 1800-1860 Copper body with cloisonne enamel decoration Height 18.3 cm 227-1896

Hot water ewer (Japanese: yuto). The heavy enamels and thick brass wires on this ewer are all indicative of early attempts at the manufacture of larger examples of cloisonné in Japan. The decoration on the main body of the ewer is of the mythical phoenix-like bird known in Japanese as the Ho-o which is seen together with flaming Buddhist jewels amongst stylised clouds. The handle and spout of the ewer are both separately applied pieces; the fixing bolts for these pieces are visible in the interior of the ewer.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1900 Copper, covered with coloured enamels (cloisonne technique), with 'shakudo' rim and base Height 31 cm 265-1903

The elegant silver wire decoration of wisteria emerges from the stylised clouds on the shoulder of the vase. The rim (Japanese: fukurin) and foot-ring are of the blue-black copper/gold alloy known in Japanese as shakudo: the inner neck of the vase is of gilded copper. The careful placement of the cloisonné enamel design (in silver and gold wire) makes particular use of large areas of pure enamels which, by this time, the cloisonné manufacturers of Japan were confident in using to complement finely detailed decoration. This elegant unsigned vase was recognised as one of his own works by the Nagoya-based cloisonné artist Ando Jubei on the occasion of his visit to the V&A in 1910. Ando's visit to the V&A took place at the time of the Japan British Exhibition at White City, where the Ando Company had a stand. Museum records of the time show that the V&A rejected the offer Jubei made of ten contemporary works.

Cloisonné enamels are one of the great glories of Meiji period (1868-1912) craftsmanship. From around 1880-1910, when the Japanese government was actively encouraging the manufacture of high-quality crafts for export to the West, they reached their pinnacle of elegance and sophistication: this has become known as the 'Golden Age' of Japanese cloisonné. Cloisonné objects featured prominently at international exhibitions in which the Japanese were regular participants from 1862. In later years cloisonné enamelled objects were often presented as official gifts by the Imperial family and many such objects were produced by Ando's Nagoya-based company.

Sword hand guard (tsuba)

Sword hand guard (tsuba) Japan About 1800-1850 Copper alloy (shakudo) with inlaid cloisonné enamels Height 7.7 cm x width 7.4 cm M.1629-1931

The sword-guard (Japanese: tsuba) is of the copper alloy known in Japanese as shakudo: this alloy contains approximately 95% copper and 5% gold (with other trace elements) and is patinated to a rich black colour. The 16th century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi likened the colour of shakudo to 'rain on a crow's wing'. The surface of the tsuba has been hammered to give the stone effect known in Japanese as ishime. The tsuba is decorated with inlaid panels of translucent cloisonné enamels in the traditional style of the Hirata school and there is a gold plaque with the engraved signature of Hirata Narikazu: Narikazu worked c.1601-1652 and this tsuba would appear to be an early nineteenth century copy of his work. The two holes through which two small utility knives would have passed have been filled with gold plugs decorated in the 'cat's-scratch' technique. A copper spacer has been applied to the bottom of the slit for the sword blade: this would enable the blade to fit snugly in the tsuba.

Vase

Vase Japan 1860-1880 Cloisonné enamels on copper, with gilded copper rims Height 26.8 cm x width 11.2 cm x diameter 16.9 cm 1273-1886

The eggshell blue enamel ground of this vase is decorated with copper wires within which coloured enamels have been inlaid. The naturalistic decoration depicts the Japanese crane among bamboo, together with summer flowers such as peonies and convolvulus. By the 1880s, these types of motifs, so evocative in the Western mind of Japan, were combined with earlier styles of geometric patterns. The abstract border motifs are inspired by earlier Chinese styles and the rim and foot-ring of the vase have been gilded. Before the early 1800s Japanese enamelling on metal had been restricted to small decorative pieces. By about 1860 larger-scale wares were being produced with designs based on Chinese prototypes. These were increasingly decorated with naturalistic scenes including animals, insects and plants. Objects such as this vase were exported to the West, where they in turn influenced manufacturers such as Elkingtons. This vase was part of an enormous group of objects (although only a few of them were Japanese) bequeathed to the V&A in 1885 by Joshua Dixon, a successful cotton merchant. Born in Dalston, north-east London, Dixon died on his estate of Winslade Park in Somerset and left his collection initially to the Bethnal Green Museum, which is part of the V&A, for the 'benefit of the people of East London.'

Box and lid

Box and lid Japan About 1880-1900 Copper, gold, silver, cloisonné enamels Height 6.4 cm x diameter 5.4 cm M.75:1, 2-1969

This small and elegant tea-jar (Japanese: natsume) carries all the details normally expected of the best work of Namikawa Yasuyuki (1847-1910): the mirror-black cloisonné enamel ground is covered with gold and silver wire decoration of and scrolling karakusa together with summer flowers in shades of polychrome cloisonné enamels with small roundels to accentuate the flowers. The jar is quite heavy for its size and the interior and base are all gilded in a deep golden colour. The base carries an applied silver plaque with the incised inscription 'Kyoto Namikawa'.

Nail-cover (kugikakushi)

Nail-cover (kugikakushi) Japan About 1750-1800 Gilded bronze frame with cloisonne enamel decoration and inset iron plaque Height;Width 8.8;6.2 cm;cm M.293-1912

Decorative nail-cover (Japanese: kugikakushi). This decorative object covered the head of a large nail which would be used to tie a horizontal beam to an upright pillar. This type of object was found in both domestic and religious architecture and small architectural features such as this would have been used to embellish otherwise plain woodwork. The nail-cover here is in two parts consisting of a gilded bronze frame decorated in cloisonné enamels (enamel contained within wires) and champlevé enamels (enamels applied into a hollow carved out of the surface of the object) with a central hammered iron plaque depicting a bird.

Water dropper (suiteki)

Water dropper (suiteki) Japan About 1700-1800 Gilded copper with cloisonne enamel decoration Height 4.1 cm x length 8.7 cm M.80-1912

The water-dropper is of copper, the rims (Japanese: fukurin), handle, opening and spout were all possibly once gilded. The body of the suiteki is decorated in cloisonné enamels with cloud-motifs and stylised floral scrolls delineated by copper wires (which may also have once been possibly gilded). By 1600, suiteki in enamels were increasingly found in boxes for writing utensils (Japanese: suzuribako) where it would have been used in the preparation of ink from a solid ink-block.

Dish

Dish Japan 1855-1865 Copper, cloisonné enamels Diameter 20.9 cm 249A-1904

The dish has a relatively thin copper body with thickly applied muddy-coloured cloisonné enamels contained within brass wires. The rim and foot-ring of the dish are of dull copper. The decoration is of two dragons on a ground of clouds and Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa) scrolls. The dish has an associated bowl (249-1904) which shows very similar techniques and styles of decoration. This type of work is very reminiscent of the early attempts at larger three-dimensional forms created by the cloisonné artist Kaji Tsunekichi during the renaissance of Japanese cloisonné enamels which took place in the early nineteenth century.

Bowl

Bowl Japan 1855-1865 Copper, cloisonné enamels Height x 8.3 cm x diameter 17.2 cm 249-1904

The bowl has a relatively thin copper body with thickly applied muddy-coloured cloisonné enamels contained within brass wires: the rim and foot-ring of the bowl are of dull copper. The bowl is decorated with stylised flowers (including lotus or the Buddhist hosoge flower) and finely scrolling Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa) in gilded copper wire and the interior has an additional decoration of a flying goose within a roundel. This type of work is very reminiscent of the early attempts at larger three-dimensional forms created by the cloisonné artist Kaji Tsunekichi during the renaissance of Japanese cloisonné enamels which took place in the early nineteenth century.

Sword hand guard (tsuba)

Sword hand guard (tsuba) Japan About 1800 Brass, copper alloy, gold wires, cloisonné enamel decoration Height 6.8 cm x width 6.4 cm M.596-1916

This tsuba is of brass (Japanese: shincho) with a hammered fish-roe effect (Japanese: nanako) outer border. It has applied cloisonné enamel decoration in gold wire including bamboo and floral motifs, lucky Seven-Treasure (Japanese: shippo) motifs, stylised birds (probably plovers) and waves and with an additional two stylised dragons in wire relief. Two holes are plugged with plates formed of the copper/gold alloy known in Japanese as shakudo which is patinated to a blue-black colour; these plates are alos finished with a nanako effect. There is also a shakudo rim (Japanese: fukurin) to the tsuba. The small areas of decorative cloisonné inlay on this piece are typical of the work of the Hirata school of metalworkers who specialised in sword fittings.

Lidded jar

Lidded jar Japan 1860-1875 Copper, cloisonné enamels Height 20.9 cm x diameter 23.2 cm M.584-1911

Although the ground and other applied enamels of this piece are of a dull colour, they are more refined than those seen on other early examples of mid-nineteenth century cloisonné objects and can therefore be seen to represent some of the rapid advances found in Japanese enamelling at that time. The brass wires on this bowl are here more decorative and less functional than earlier examples of cloisonné. The decoration on the bowl is of central panels containing sea-shells and sea weed on a ground decorated with peony and fine Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa) and floral scrolls. The lid has a similar ground with panels of floral motifs and has a knob in the shape of a lotus blossom. The interior of the body, lid and foot have all been lacquered in black.

Lidded jar (mizusashi)

Lidded jar (mizusashi) Japan About 1870 Copper, cloisonné enamel Height 9.9 cm x diameter 14.1 cm M.437-1910

This delicate vessel, perhaps a mizusashi (water-container for the tea ceemony) shows distinctive Chinese influence both in its style of cloisonné enamel decoration and in the use of wires and enamelling techniques. The copper body of the vessel is decorated with a curious mythical beast (perhaps a dragon), stylised lotus (or the Buddhist hosoge flower) and geometric motifs on a matt blue enamel ground with many brass wires. The base carries the Japanese character 'raku' (pleasure). The interior of the vessel is decorated with the design that includes a mythical killer-whale (Japanese: shachi), a creature often represented in an architectural context on Japanese rooftops, here seen against a background of cloud-like whorls. This creature has long been associated with the city of Nagoya, home of Kaji Tsunekichi who began the renaissance of cloisonné enamel manufacture in Japan, and a large gilded shachi can still be seen on the top of Nagoya Castle. The lid, a later addition, is of black lacquered wood.

Bowl

Bowl Japan About 1910-1920 Cloisonné enamels with silver rims Height 6.2 cm x diameter 9.7 cm M.206-1917

The manufacture and decoration of this small vase is extremely finely executed and fit has been finished in the enamel style known in the West as plique-a-jour (Japanese: shotai-jippo) and decorated with silver wire chrysanthemums in polychrome enamels. The vase has an applied silver rim and base plate.

The Japanese technique for the manufacture of plique-a-jour differs in some significant respects from that in the West. In Japanese shotai-jippo the copper body of an object is prepared as if for cloisonné enamelling but importantly the interior is not enamelled. Once the piece has been completed, clear lacquer is applied to its polished exterior to protect it from the acid that is then used to dissolve the copper body. The result is an object, usually rather fragile, that consists of semi-transparent panels of enamel held together by a pattern of fine wires.

Lidded vase

Lidded vase Japan About 1880-1890 Copper body decorated with cloisonné enamels Height 13.6 cm 266-1903

The mirror-black enamel ground of this lidded vase is decorated in silver wires with flowers, including peony and iris by a stream, two flying ducks and a butterfly. The area above the base plate, below the rim and the lid are decorated with bands of the lucky Seven-Treasure (Japanese: shippo) motif. The rims and foot-rings are of gilded copper. Yasuyuki's cloisonné enamels are characterised by the skilful use of intricate wirework and superb attention to detail. The designs on his earlier pieces are relatively traditional, consisting mainly of stylised botanical and formal geometric motifs. The designs on much of his later work tends to be more pictorial, consisting mainly of scenes from nature and views of landmarks in and around Kyoto. His work included both pieces with designs predominantly defined by wires and pieces where the pictorial composition is balanced by large areas of pure coloured enamel.

Although the interior of the foot carries a silver plaque with the well-executed signature of Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927), the design and execution of the ducks are more reminiscent of the work of another cloisonné maker, Shibata, who worked in Kyoto around the same time as Yasuyuki.

Lidded box

Lidded box Japan About 1870-1880 Porcelain decorated with cloisonné enamels Height 10.2 cm M.21-1958

Lidded porcelain container (Japanese: natsume), possibly for tea. The lid of the container is decorated in silver wires with two quail amongst flowers, a band of stylised bats and clouds and a band of scrolling Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa). The main body continues with a band of scrolling karakusa with the main decoration of plovers and waves followed by a small band of brass wire karakusa, all in matt cloisonné enamels. The interior has been given a thin wash of either brown lacquer or enamel and then decorated with gold and silver lacquer birds, flowers and abstract geometrical motifs. The interior foot has the artist's signature written in gold lacquer.

The Nagoya-based cloisonné artist Tsukamoto Kaisuke (1828-1887) is believed to have been responsible for the discovery, some time around 1868, of the technique of applying cloisonné enamels to a ceramic vessel. However, this was a relatively short-lived innovation, and was never very popular, probably because enamels on porcelain tended to be dull and dirty in appearance and were liable to crack. Nevertheless, some fine and durable examples were produced.

Vase

Vase Japan About 1870-1880 Porcelain, cloisonné enamel Height 17.2 cm 4364-1901

The heavy porcelain body of the vase is decorated with cloisonné enamel abstract floral and geometric motifs on a blue enamel ground with small stylised cloud patterns; all these designs are picked out in brass wire. The Nagoya-based cloisonné artist Tsukamoto Kaisuke (1828-1887) is believed to have been responsible for the discovery, some time around 1868, of the technique of applying cloisonné enamels to a ceramic vessel. However, this was a relatively short-lived innovation, and was never very popular, probably because enamels on porcelain tended to be dull and dirty in appearance and were liable to crack. Nevertheless, some fine and durable examples were produced.

Kettle

Kettle Japan About 1860 Copper body decorated with cloisonné enamels; silver handle Height 15.2 cm 894-1869

This elegant vessel, having been bought at the Paris International Exposition of 1867 for the not insignificant sum of £24.00 (from 'the Tycoon's Government') is one of the earliest documented examples of cloisonné to be found in any western collection. It must date from around 1860 and the wire-work and enamelling are clearly of the finest quality and compare very favourably with other cloisonné objects of the period. The dull blue enamel ground has a large number of fine brass (or gold) background wires delineating a design of scrolling Chinese Grass (Japanese: karakusa), together with geometric, lucky Seven Treasures (Japanese: shippo) and floral motifs in a limited range of polychrome enamels. The handle is of silver, or perhaps of silvered copper.

We do not know who made this piece, but it is most likely to have been produced in Nagoya, possibly even by Kaji Tsunekichi, the craftsman responsible for the renaissance of Japanese cloisonné enamels around 1840.

Lidded box

Lidded box Japan About 1870-1880 Copper, brass, cloisonné enamel Height 19.4 cm x width 22.3 cm M.382-1911

This vessel, described in the V&A's original register entry as a 'water-vessel' (Japanese: mizusashi) was the only piece of cloisonné the Museum acquired from a collection of eleven cloisonné enamel-decorated objects offered by Ando Jubei at the time of the 1910 Japan-British exhibition in London. The original notes in the acquisition correspondence attributing it the 'Taiko period' were later amended to date it to 1860, but it is more likely to be of slightly later manufacture. The eight sides appear to have been separately made then assembled and enamelled. The thick brass wire decoration is of cloisonné enamelled chrysanthemum together with small leaf-like shapes which, like many early examples of larger-scale Japanese cloisonné enamels, may be intended more to retain the enamel and prevent it flowing during a firing, rather than for their decorative appeal.

Sake kettle (choshi)

Sake kettle (choshi) Japan 1750-1850 cast and patinated iron, cloisonné enamels Height 15.3 cm x width 19.8 cm 502&A-1894

The cast iron body of the kettle (Japanese: choshi) for rice wine (Japanese: sake) has been patinated (through a pickling process involving hot plum wine) to a dark russet shade. It is decorated in low relief with hanging pine boughs and pine needles, both suggesting New Year. The pierced attached handle has a silver inlaid design of chrysanthemum blossom and the shippo (seven lucky treasures) motif. The lid is of copper with cloisonné enamel decoration of abstract motifs: this type of cloisonné is typical of the early attempts at this technique to be found in the Nagoya area of Japan around 1850. Iron kettles of this type, with their distinctive flattened spout, were used during the cold winter months for heating sake.

Sword hand guard (tsuba)

Sword hand guard (tsuba) Japan 1750-1850 Patinated copper with cloisonné enamels Height 7.0 cm x weight 6.7 cm M.111-1924

The sword-guard (Japanese: tsuba) is of the copper alloy known in Japanese as shakudo: this alloy contains approximately 95% copper and 5% gold (with other trace elements) and is patinated to a rich black colour. The 16th century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi likened the colour of shakudo to 'rain on a crow's wing'. The foliate shape has decorative inlaid silver wire in the form of a Japanese drawer-handle. The tsuba is decorated with inlaid panels of a butterfly and peony in translucent cloisonné enamels in the traditional style of the Hirata school. This school was founded by Hirata Donin (also known as Hirata Hikoshiro, died 1646) and was active, through a subsequent eleven generations, well into the second half of the nineteenth century. While the quality of the work of the Hirata School was generally very high, by the nineteenth century the term 'Hirata' was also used to refer to much less refined work in the style of the school but made by other craftsmen.

Vase

Vase Japan 1890-1910 Cooper body with cloisonné enamel decoration Height 24.4 cm M.68-1969

This tall vase is decorated in coloured cloisonné enamels with a scene of a high-class Kyoto geisha (perhaps of the type known as an Oiran) and her attendant out walking. The Oiran wears an luxuriously decorated kimono with the sash (obi) tied at the front and has an extremely elaborate hair-do. She wears high-platform geta on her feet. The mirror-black enamel ground of the vase is typical of the work of Namikawa Yasuyuki, the renowned Kyoto maker of cloisonné enamels, as is the fine geometrical cloisonné decoration on the neck and foot of the vase. The vase has a silver plaque applied to the base which carries the engraved inscription 'Kyoto Shibata' in precisely the same style as the plaques used by Namikawa Yasuyuki who signed 'Kyoto Namikawa'. We know nothing of Shibata, not even his given name, but it has been suggested that he was in some way involved with Yasuyuki's Kyoto workshop and may even have been working directly for him.

Table cabinet

Table cabinet Japan 1890-1910 Copper, cloisonné enamel Height 19.4 cm x width 12.1 cm x depth 8.9 cm M.70:1 to 8-1969

This exterior of this small table-cabinet has a cloisonné enamel decoration of butterflies in hanging wisteria, all on a blue enamel ground. On opening, seven small drawers can be seen; these, and the inner face of the doors, are decorated with birds, including the mythical Ho-o bird (a type of phoenix) in an autumnal maple tree together with chrysanthemums. This type of work is typical of the cloisonné enamels being produced in and around Nagoya in the latter decade of the nineteenth century. In 1871 the Nagoya Cloisonné Company (Nagoya Shippo Kaisha) was established at the village of Toshima, just outside Nagoya. So many cloisonné-manufacturing companies sprang up in and around Toshima that the area, which rapidly became Japan's main centre of cloisonné production, came to be known as Shippo-mura (Cloisonné Village) or Shippo-cho (Cloisonné Town). It has been estimated that at their peak the cloisonné manufacturers of Toshima were producing no less than seventy percent of the total cloisonné enamels produced in Japan.

Vase

Vase Japan 1890-1905 Copper, cloisonné enamels Height 10.5 cm x diameter 6.3 cm M.72-1969

The vase is decorated with silver wire delineating the pair of cloisonné enamelled birds perching on a flowering cherry tree on a flat ground of matt green enamel. The neck has cloisonné enamel decoration of scrolling flowers on the mirror-black enamel ground for which Yasuyuki was renowned. The applied rims and foot ring are of the copper/gold alloy known as shakudo.

Yasuyuki's cloisonné enamels are characterised by the skilful use of intricate wirework and superb attention to detail. The designs on his earlier pieces are relatively traditional, consisting mainly of stylised botanical and formal geometric motifs, as can be sen on the neck of this vase. The designs on much of his later work tends to be more pictorial, consisting mainly of scenes from nature and views of landmarks in and around Kyoto. His work included both pieces with designs predominantly defined by wires and pieces where the pictorial composition is balanced by large areas of pure coloured enamel as can be seen here in this small vase..

Vase

Vase Japan 1870-1880 Copper, cloisonné enamels Height 63.5 cm 4385-1901

The renaissance of Japanese cloisonné manufacture is usually credited to Kaji Tsunekichi (1803-83) of Nagoya in Owari Province (modern Aichi Prefecture). Tsunekichi, along with other early makers of cloisonné had to overcome many technical problems, particularly in the application of the enamels, and early works, such as this tall vase, are characterised by the use of a larger number of background wires. These wires were both decorative, in that they formed an integral part of the design, and practical in that they prevented the enamels from running during firing. The patterns created by the wires on many of these early pieces often took the form of stylised waves, clouds, key-fret patterns, and scrolling karakusa (lit. 'Chinese Grass') and dragons were also a popular motif.

In 1871 the Nagoya Cloisonné Company (Nagoya Shippo Kaisha) was established at Toshima, just outside Nagoya. So many cloisonné-manufacturing companies sprang up in and around Toshima that the area, which rapidly became Japan's main centre of cloisonné production, came to be known as Shippo-mura (Cloisonné village) or Shippo-cho (Cloisonné town).