KOMAI: A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL CHARGER DEPICTING SAMURAI

KOMAI: A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL CHARGER DEPICTING SAMURAI
By the Komai company, signed Nihon koku Kyoto ju Komai sei
Japan, Kyoto, Meiji period (1868-1912)

The iron dish with a gilt rim, the front depicting two samurai dressed in full armor before a flowering tree and amongst fallen arrows. The samurai wearing a kabuto holds a sakazuki (sake cup) before him as the other samurai dances with a fan in his hand. The details are inlaid in gold with some silver. Three lobed feet to the reverse and signed in gold Nihon koku Kyoto ju KOMAI sei inside a square reserve and below a gilt dragonfly.

DIAMETER 30 cm
WEIGHT 898 g

Condition: Very good condition, extremely minor surface wear. Scattered rust spots to the backside.
Provenance: British collection.

Auction comparison:
A related dish by the Komai company with the same dragonfly mark depicting a similar subject, yet significantly smaller, was offered at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Works of Art, 19 March 2014, New York, lot 3314 (estimated at 6,000-8,000 USD).