Lot 3835. A hammered iron vase, Meiji period (late 19th century), sealed Sobi (Yamada Sobi; 1871-1916); 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price realised HKD 1,000,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.

The ovoid form with short flared neck finely hammered in low relief, the body section encircled by a band designed with various animals, seal mark on base.

Literature: Kuo Hong-Sheng and Chang Yuan-Feng, chief eds. et al., Meiji no bi / Splendid Beauty: Illustrious Crafts of the Meiji Period (Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics, 2013), pp. 218-220.

Exhibited: Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts, “Japan Arts of Meiji Period; Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival Special Exhibition.” 2011.7.8-2012.1.8. cat. p. 81. 
“Meiji Kogei: Amazing Japanese Art,” shown at the following venues: Tokyo University of the Arts Museum, 2016.9.7-10.30. Hosomi Museum, Kyoto, 2016.11.12-12.25. Kawagoe City Art Museum, 2017.4.22-6.11. cat. no. 85.

Note: Yamada Sobi was the son of Yamada Munemitsu (?-1908), a ninth-generation armorer who learned metal-hammering in a Myochin-school studio. He was particularly skilled at the technique of tetsu uchidashi(hammered iron) for producing three-dimensional, sculptural works from a single ingot of iron. He participated in many exhibitions and received thirty-five prizes at national and international expositions, including the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, 1905 Belgium World Exposition and 1909 Seattle World Exposition.

He was under consideration as Artist to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu gigeiin) but he died before the announcement of those honors. His works are in the collection of major museums including, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The Walter's Art Gallery, Baltimore and the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo.

Sobi was highly skilled at creating objects from a thin iron sheet by hammering. Because it requires great time and effort to produce large scale objects, the present lot is extremely rare.

Christie's. The Meiji Aesthetic: Selected Masterpieces from a Private Asian Collection, Hong Kong, 27 November 2018