A Shibayama inlaid and lacquered wood panel depicting cranes and flowers

Description:

Japan, signed Yukawa Motosada, Meiji period
93,8 x 53,5 cm R.
Of rectangular form, on a dark wood and lacquer background inlaid in the Shibayama style in mother-of-pearl and bone, worked in gold Takamaki-e and Hiramaki-e. At the centre is a detailed Manchurian crane amidst blooming hydrangeas, grasses and other birds in flight. The delicate bands of clouds and twigs in the background are designed in gold sprinkling lacquer technique (Maki-e). Lower right an artist’s seal in the form of an inlaid square plaque: Yukawa Motosada.
Private collection in East Germany, mostly acquired between the 1970s and the 1990s - Minor Signs of wear, few losses to the inlays
Yukawa Motosada (湯川元貞) was a renowned master of the Meiji period, whose workshop was famous for luxuriousexport art, featuring elaborate gold lacquer techniques and the finest Shibayama inlays