NAMIKAWA YASUYUKI: A FINE CLOISONNE ENAMEL VASE By Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927), signed Kyoto Namikawa Japan, circa 1890, Meiji period (1868-1912) The silver-mounted baluster-shaped vase with an elongated neck and a flaring lip, masterfully worked with polychrome enamels and silver wire depicting varieties of kiku (chrysanthemum) blossoms and scrolling vines, all against a midnight blue ground, the shoulder decorated with a band of butterflies and flower heads, and the neck with formal lozenge motifs on a mustard-yellow ground. The foot ringed with panels of flower heads on a lime-green ground. Signed underneath on a raised signature tablet KYOTO NAMIKAWA. HEIGHT 13.3 cm WEIGHT 175 g Condition: Pristine condition with only minimal wear. Minor nicks and traces of use to silver fittings. Tiny area of enamel thinning original to manufacture. Provenance: US private collection. Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927) is widely regarded as one of the greatest cloisonne makers of all time. He won prizes at the Philadelphia World Fair of 1876, then at the Paris World Fair of 1878, and later at the 1889 Paris Fair. He was also honored at the series of National Industrial Expositions which was instituted in 1877. He won altogether 31 prizes at expositions both at home and abroad. In 1896 together with the unrelated Namikawa Sosuke, Yasuyuki was appointed as a Teishitsu Gigeiin, or ‘Imperial Artist', the only two cloisonne makers to be so honored. Literature comparison: For a bottle of nearly identical design, see Impey and Fairley, eds., Enamel, vol. II of Meiji no Takara, Treasures of Imperial Japan (London: Kibo Foundation, 1995), pl. 8. Auction comparison: Compare to an almost identical vase sold at Christie's, Japanese and Korean Art, 22 September 2005, New York, lot 256 (sold for 28,800 USD).