A NEAR PAIR OF SOFT METAL INLAYS ‘BIRDS’...

A NEAR PAIR OF SOFT METAL INLAYS ‘BIRDS’ BRONZE VASES BY MIYABE ATSUYOSHI 宮部篤良
Japan, Meiji period
Of elongated ovate shape, with a narrow neck and a round rim. The grounds all covered with low-relief lozenge and flowers pattern with two reserved medallions on the bodies, the necks also reserved. Two of the medallions with Lake Biwa landscapes and Mount Fuji in the background, the two other medallions with birds, one with owls perched on leafy branches, a silver-patinated full moon in the sky, the other with a magpie and flying chidori birds around a lotus pond. The below engraved as follow: “一光堂宮部篤良” with a kao, lit. Ikkodo Miyabe Atsuyoshi.
H: 23,5 cm
Note: Miyabe Atsuyoshi is recorded in Wakayama Takeshi 若山猛, Kinko jiten 金工事典 (Dictionary of Metalworkers), Tokyo, Token Shunju Shinbunsha 刀剣春秋新聞社, 1999, p.1141, as a maker of sword-fittings and a pupil of Shinoyama Tokuoki (1813-1891), active in Kyoto during the late Edo period and early Meiji era.