Description † A MATCHED PAIR OF GOLD-INLAID BRONZE 'BUDDHIST TEMPLE BELL' KOGO (INCENSE CONTAINERS), ONE BY MIYABE ATSUYOSHIOne by Miyabe Atsuyoshi, signed IkkodoJapan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)Each cast in the form of a bell, the dark-brown patinated bronze decorated in gold, silver, and copper takazogan to depict a fierce three-clawed dragon with neatly incised scales, its sinuous body partly obscured by the surrounding swirling clouds and crashing waves, a lotus motif on either side, with a band of formal lappet ornament inlaid in gold around the base, the domed lid with gold lappets and raised bosses imitating those on a real bell, surmounted by a handle in the form of a double-dragon head. One bell is signed to the base IKKODO – the art name of Miyabe Atsuyoshi.HEIGHT 12.8 cm (each)WEIGHT 757.6 g and 639.2 gCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear.During the Meiji era, Japanese metalworkers began to manufacture ornaments in the form of Buddhist temple bells. Reflecting increasingly sophisticated Western interest in native traditions and beliefs, such pieces were mostly intended not for liturgical use in Japan but as ornaments for American and European drawing rooms. Even so, their makers made an effort to give them the appearance of miniaturized versions of the real thing, sometimes as with this particularly high-quality lot adding fanciful surface motifs that appealed to foreign taste for exotic myth and legend.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.Although the present boxes and covers were not conceived as a pair, they match perfectly and it can be seen as a great (and unlikely) accomplishment by the collector to have brought the two together.Auction comparison:Compare a closely related single kogo (incense container) with Nogawa mark, sold at Christie's, Masterful Exuberance, Artistic Craftsmanship of Imperial Japan, 18 May 2012, London, lot 23 (sold for 11,875 GBP).