13th Jun, 2025 10:00
Fine Japanese Art
166
A SUPERB GILT-LACQUERED WOOD ZUSHI (PORTABLE BUDDHIST SHRINE) WITH JUICHIMEN KANNON, 18TH CENTURY
Sold for €9,100
including Buyer's Premium
Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
The shrine housing a figure of the eleven-headed Kannon dressed in fine robes, the left hand in semui-in mudra for dispelling fear and the right lowered, the face with a serene expression and finely painted moustache framing the bow-shaped lips, the hair pulled up into a high chignon surrounded by ten small heads below the head of Amida, and secured by an elaborate metal crown suspending glass beads. Kannon is standing atop a lotus dais rising from crashing waves, with two dragons below, and backed by an elaborate openwork mandorla of scrolling lotus vines centered behind her head with a lotus blossom.
The slender shrine of roiro with hinged doors and copper fittings finely chased with foliate scroll against a ring-punched ground, including a floral closure and blossom-form handles, the interior of the doors lacquered in gold and with the Kamei clan emblem, which is also found to the exterior of the shrine.
HEIGHT 54 cm (the shrine), 30 cm (the figure)
Condition: Excellent condition with only minimal wear and a few tiny losses. Its remarkably pristine state suggests it has been carefully treasured and preserved through generations.
Provenance: From an old Japanese collection. Midori Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States, acquired from the above. The Midori Gallery was opened by Sachi Wagner and her husband in 1971 and has been a celebrated source of antique Asian cultural artifacts for over half a century. In the beginning it was used as a bookstore specializing in East Asian culture, art, and philosophy, but slowly developed into an antique shop focusing on Far Eastern works of art. Sachi Wagner is an authority in Asian antiques with more than 50 years of experience, specializing in China and Japan with elements of Korea, Tibet, India, and Southeast Asia. She has garnered a premier collection of paintings and screens, textiles, porcelain and archaic ceramics, sculpture, furniture, netsuke, folk art, and other artifacts.
The Kamei family crest found on the present lot indicates a special commission for this important family, which were daimyo of the Tsuwana domain, which they ruled until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related lacquer zushi with Juichimen Kannon, dated to the 19th century, at Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 6 December 2024, Vienna, lot 174 (sold for EUR 16,900).
Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
The shrine housing a figure of the eleven-headed Kannon dressed in fine robes, the left hand in semui-in mudra for dispelling fear and the right lowered, the face with a serene expression and finely painted moustache framing the bow-shaped lips, the hair pulled up into a high chignon surrounded by ten small heads below the head of Amida, and secured by an elaborate metal crown suspending glass beads. Kannon is standing atop a lotus dais rising from crashing waves, with two dragons below, and backed by an elaborate openwork mandorla of scrolling lotus vines centered behind her head with a lotus blossom.
The slender shrine of roiro with hinged doors and copper fittings finely chased with foliate scroll against a ring-punched ground, including a floral closure and blossom-form handles, the interior of the doors lacquered in gold and with the Kamei clan emblem, which is also found to the exterior of the shrine.
HEIGHT 54 cm (the shrine), 30 cm (the figure)
Condition: Excellent condition with only minimal wear and a few tiny losses. Its remarkably pristine state suggests it has been carefully treasured and preserved through generations.
Provenance: From an old Japanese collection. Midori Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States, acquired from the above. The Midori Gallery was opened by Sachi Wagner and her husband in 1971 and has been a celebrated source of antique Asian cultural artifacts for over half a century. In the beginning it was used as a bookstore specializing in East Asian culture, art, and philosophy, but slowly developed into an antique shop focusing on Far Eastern works of art. Sachi Wagner is an authority in Asian antiques with more than 50 years of experience, specializing in China and Japan with elements of Korea, Tibet, India, and Southeast Asia. She has garnered a premier collection of paintings and screens, textiles, porcelain and archaic ceramics, sculpture, furniture, netsuke, folk art, and other artifacts.
The Kamei family crest found on the present lot indicates a special commission for this important family, which were daimyo of the Tsuwana domain, which they ruled until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related lacquer zushi with Juichimen Kannon, dated to the 19th century, at Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 6 December 2024, Vienna, lot 174 (sold for EUR 16,900).
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