登录
Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)
Exquisitely crafted in the European academic taste of the nineteenth century, the desk is constructed in multiple stackable sections and raised on two pedestal supports. Each pedestal is fitted with doors opening to reveal three drawers at the front and a cupboard compartment to the rear. The cylindrical roll top encloses a complex interior arrangement comprising two hinged doors, sliding panels, and a drawer containing a writing slope lined in purple velvet.
The superstructure, conceived in the form of a traditional Japanese shrine, is fitted with additional drawers and a central compartment opening to reveal two small cases beneath an open chamber above.
The surfaces are lavishly decorated in gold, silver, and iro-e takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, further enriched with mother-of-pearl inlays. The decoration depicts celebrated shrine views, including the Nikko Tosho-gu, set amid fluttering birds and embellished with imperial paulownia and hollyhock crests. Blossoming cherry trees adorn the side panels, all framed by key-fret borders and further geometric ornament. The central shrine section is finely embellished with a painted ‘scroll painting’ depicting a writhing dragon, signed at the lower right Ryu (…) [dragon].
SIZE 169.5 x 105.3 x 69.5 cm
Provenance: David D. Dikinson Fine Antique Furniture, United Kingdom, 1995. The private collection of the Tomkinson Family, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of the original signed invoice, dated 14 February 1995, and stating a purchase price of GBP 14,500 (or approx. EUR 35,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) was a British businessman and noted collector from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, who began collecting Japanese art in 1878. With his wife, Annie Porrit Stonehouse, he assembled a collection of several thousand objects - including okimono, netsuke, lacquerware, inro, ceramics, woodblock prints, textiles, swords, and bronzes. His holdings were documented in the two-volume catalogue “A Japanese Collection” (1898), and he was also an active council member of the Japan Society. After his death, the collection was dispersed at auction in London, with works acquired by institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, though many pieces remained with or were repurchased by the family. The Tomkinson family continued his collecting tradition in subsequent generations, acquiring further works, particularly fine lacquer, from auction houses and dealers in the United Kingdom and France.
Condition: Excellent condition. Remarkably well-preserved. Faint traces of use and light rubbing to lacquer along the edges and exposed corners.
This desk exemplifies the type of object highly prized by Western Japonophiles in the late nineteenth century. The upper section evokes the architectural form of a Shinto shrine, while the cylindrical bureau element reflects Western demand for adaptable and multifunctional furniture suited to both commercial and domestic interiors. The elaborate decorative program presents a sophisticated synthesis of Japanese motifs tailored to Western taste, with compartment panels depicting pavilions, temples, and vernacular architecture in a manner reminiscent of a picturesque, almost postcard-like vision of Japan.
Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related lacquer cylinder desk, Meiji period, late 19th century, 171 x 105.7 x 69.5 cm, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts Montréal, inventory number 1971.DF.1.
Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related inlaid gold-lacquer cylinder desk, Meiji period, late 19th century, 178 x 143 x 75 cm, at Sotheby’s, 19th Century Furniture, New York, 26 March 2003, lot 167 (sold for USD 42,000 or approx. EUR 65,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).
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| Galerie Zacke | |
| 地址： | Sterngasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria |
| 电话： | 0043-1-5320452 |
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