small japanese cloissone box

[gsmoggy]

Hi Members
I have this small box ,not sure if it is suitable for this forum?it may have silver and gold wire,or brass and metal.
I would be interested in opinions about it.
I am a collector of small interesting boxes (I may have said this before)
I felt this was an interesting addition as it has some very interesting workmanship.I cleaned it after I purchased it (personal choice,I am sure some people may have left it as it was) with post before images as well.
Regards Guido.

[gsmoggy]

Hi Members
I have just come across an interesting post by Trev some time ago ,under Chinese export and far east trade information,There is a great article there about Namikawa Yasuyuki,who was the best cloissonne maker of his day.
This article was interesting for me as I have had people say that my small kidney shape box is in the Namikawa Stye ,I am now looking to find out if he made this shape box,and if not made by him what other company may have made it ,the Ando company has been mentioned.

I am also curious to find out the age of it,I cleaned it after I bought it. The last 2 images are of the box before cleaning.

The workmanship seems to be quite good to me .The fact that they have gone to the trouble to edge the copper box with brass,the wires around the base are gold or brass and silver wire is used on the top,and the very delicate and fine design around the sides ,to me are signs that a lot of care was taken.
If members do not know his work this piece may be similar ,although he was mainly known for his amazing ,spectacular vases.
He was also the inventor of the material that is on the top of my box,called goldstone or aventurine.Probably with the help of a German chemist

Size is 11x7x5cm
Regards Guido.

[AG2012]

Hi,
The origin of aventurine effect in enamel dates back to the 17th century Venice (copper filings were accidentally spilled on molten glass,thus etymology from ‚‚a ventura‚‚ meaning by chance).
Aventurine glazes and enamels consist of a glassy matrix that contains randomly distributed crystals of high reflectivity. Direct incident light causes these crystals to sparkle, producing a glittering effect that varies with the angle of incident light. It can be obtained with chromium, copper and iron by crystallising the metal or the oxide.During firing, the metallic oxide dissolves to give rise subsequently, in cooling, to the laminar crystals.
Regards

[gsmoggy]

Hi AG
Many thanks for your reply, I had read what you posted about aventurine,you are correct. My information came from an article in THE JAPANESE TIMES
CULTURE, by MIo Yamada,"Namikawa was winning international prizes for impeccably executed designs and the inventions of two enamels ,a translucent black and a GOLDSTONE like finish that shimmed with a mettalic dust"

Sounds like this information may not have been accurate ,it probably should have said he was the first to use it on this type of cloissonne work.
As we know in the world, not much is new, most things done today date back to most of the early cultures somehow.

You will find in a lot of the info about Namikawa ,that he was helped by a German scientist Gottfried Wagner, with the inventions of the enamels,maybe it was Wagner who had read about the incident in Venice ,and helped him technically achieve it.

Regards Guido.

[AG2012]

helped by a German scientist Gottfried Wagner

This is very likely because the chemical process involved is very complicated and scientifically studied even today.
Besides,most of aventurine data refer to ceramic glazes and glass and because enamel is actually fired powdered glass, aventurine enamel is rather uncommon in cloisonne.
Regards

[gsmoggy]

Hi AG
many thanks for your comments.
As you probably know,with my posts over time ,I collect interesting small boxes,This is my only Japanese one,I buy mainly boxes that I feel have quality workmanship,This box although probably not by Namikawa (his boxes specially his signed ones ,are very rare and expensive) has a lot of the features that he used on his vases,The fine black circle borders ,the butterflies,the goldstone(aventurine) I feel it was made in the period he was working.

As yet have not seen similar ones anywhere on the net.

I have contacted the Namikawa museum,to see if they may help me re possible maker,and also they also may discount him as the maker.
The fact that his name was mentioned "in his style"is a bonus for me.
It will be interesting if I can discover the maker.
size of box is 11x7.4x5cm ,the details are very fine as it is not a very big box.
Regards Guido.

[gsmoggy]

Hi members
I have been in contact with the Namikawa Museum in Kyoto Japan.

Unfortunately the do not give opinions on the items of private owners.

I will keep trying to find the possible maker.

regards Guido.