A large and fine lacquer plate with Shibayama inlays, depicting Benten on a screen

Description:

Japan, Meiji period
D. 45 cm
Circular, with a rich, gold-coloured lacquer ground, decorated with fine Shibayama inlays of ivory, mother-of-pearl, dyed horn and other materials. The centre shows the goddess of fortune Benzaiten (Benten), in elegant court dress with a biwa, depicted on a richly decorated byōbu (screen). At her side flowers, birds and musical instruments as well as a pedestal with incense burners äß, worked in high relief in intarsia in great detail. The wide rim is decorated in alternating fields with finely engraved phönix medallions as well as with various colours (ōgi), also with floral and figural Shibayama inlays.
From an old North German private collection, assembled before 1970 - The EU trade certificate for the sale of this lot is available
The Shibayama technique is named after the Shibayama family (芝山), who worked in Edo (now Tokyo) in the late 18th century. The first known master was Shibayama Katsuyuki (芝山勝行, active ca. 1770-1800), who developed the technique. The Shibayama workshop combined lacquer art (urushi) with applied inlays of ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, coral and semi-precious stones - often in high relief, giving the works a particularly three-dimensional effect.The technique became widespread in the late Edo period and experienced its heyday in the Meiji period, when such pieces were heavily produced for export to Western collectors.
Cf. a related bowl with central figure at Christie's London, Japanese Art and Design, 11.5.2010, lot 249, also with central screen motif and Shibayama inlays. Further examples with depictions of the Seven Glücksgötter can be found in the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, London, see Oliver Impey & Malcolm Fairley, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, Volume II: Meiji no Takara, Treasures of Imperial Japan, Lacquer Part II (1995), there several objects with benzaiten depictions - Hairline crack from the rim into the wall (approx. 9 cm), small glued chip on the rim (1.3 x 0.3 cm), glued and retouched break on the rim (12 x 2.5 cm)