Description † MIYABE ATSUYOSHI: A PAIR OF FINE INLAID BRONZE VASESBy Miyabe Atsuyoshi, signed Ikkodo Miyabe Atsuyoshi with kakihanJapan, late 19th-early 20th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)Each of slender ovoid form, supported on a short straight foot and rising to a waisted neck with a galleried rim, the shoulder and rim neatly incised with key-fret bands, finely decorated in gold, silver, copper, and shakudo takazogan as well as katakiri and kebori to the neck with autumn leaves and to the body with a front panel enclosed by gold cranes and a reverse panel with the edge in the form of crashing waves, each reserved against a deeply incised diapered ground interrupted by gold-inlaid wavy and floral designs. One vase depicts owls perched on leafy blossoming branches with the full silver moon partly obscured by a raised wispy cloud to the front and a towering pine tree in front of a long bridge with Mount Fuji in the background to the reverse, the other vase with a bird of prey clutching a small bird above a stream amid snowy bamboo and leaves to the front and a lakeshore scene with a fishing hut and trees to the reverse. The base of each vase is signed IKKODO MIYABE ATSUYOSHI with a kakihan (artist's monogram).HEIGHT 23.5 cm (each)WEIGHT 978 g and 1,018 gCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Provenance: British collection.Miyabe Atsuyoshi, art name Ikkodo, is recorded in Wakayama Takeshi, Kinko Jiten (Dictionary of Metalworkers), Tokyo, Token Shunju Shinbunsha, 1999, p. 1141, as being 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. Working out of Kyoto, Miyabe Atsuyoshi exhibited works domestically and internationally at the turn of the twentieth century, such as at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, MO.Literature comparison: Compare an inlaid bronze koro and cover by Miyabe Atsuyoshi, also decorated with an owl, illustrated in Meiji no Takara: Treasures of Imperial Japan - The Nasser D. Khalili Collection, The Kibo Foundation, 1995, Metalwork part II, no. 93.Auction comparison: Compare a related pair of vases by Miyabe Atsuyoshi, also dated late 19th century, each 30 cm high, at Christie's, 7 November 2012, London, lot 313 (sold for 12,500 GBP).