Description
The general form of this low incense table, shares much in common with Kasuga-joku (offering tables) from the Momoyama (1568–1600) and Edo (1603 and 1868) periods of Japan. Yet the overall form and decorative styling from the cloud collar corners above the slender cabriole legs, to the delicate “miao jin” style gold over red paintings evokes imagery of lacquered kang tables from the reign of the Chinese Kangxi emperor (1661–1722). And thus, true to form, this hybrid marriage of styles straddling the gap between China and Japan leads us to an origin in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The 18th century was a time in which the Ryukyu Kingdom was but a kingdom in name only. In reality, by this time the economy was controlled primarily by the Satsuma Domain (1602–1869). As a result, Japanese influences were particularly and naturally this was transmitted to private workshops producing lacquer works of the kind. We can see this influence in various elements of decoration and the Kasuga-joku derived form. While one might be forgiven for misattributing this piece to China, it would be even easier to misattribute it to Japan.
Constructed from local woods and covered in a vermillion lacquer ground, this table was then decorated using characteristically 18th/19th century haku-e, a technique in which picture and pattern are drawn with lacquer and then gold leaf applied on top while semi-dry. After drying, excess gold leaf is wiped off to reveal the finished design. In some cases, fine lines are then created by scratching into the design with a sharp object. Other details can be painted over in black, further enhancing the imagery.
On the top surface or of the table and rimmed within a water bead edge, is depicted a mystical seascape scene of offshore rocky islands jutted with pine, willow and other trees and plants and in some cases dotted with buildings and pagodas with connecting bridges and outcrops. In other places, figures are seen seated or strolling; all shrouded in misty meandering cloud cover. It should be noted that the rendering of the trees in the farthest background is particularly characteristic of Ryukyuan imagery. Taotie patterns, often seen on early Chinese bronzes adorn the corners and sides of the table and a highly stylized phoenix motif is depicted just below the taotie faces on the top outer curve of the legs. The cloud collar corner aprons are decorated with long tailed birds, ducks, butterflies, chrysanthemums, leafy branches and lingbi stones.
Birds of various types including phoenix, cranes, herons, ducks and other birds are common motifs seen on Ryukyu pieces, particularly on 18th and 19th century pieces (but not limited exclusively to) and can be seen on earlier items as well. Very similar imagery of birds can be found on textiles of the same period in the Naha Museum.
When considering all of these characteristics, dating this piece is relatively straightforward, although the “busyness” of the design on the tables surface points to an earlier 19th century dating, as such landscape designs became more open and simplified as time passed.
In the Urasoe Art Museum (Okinawa, Japan) a habachi depicting similar seascape scenes and rendered in the same techniques resides in their collection, although this is merely one example and there are many other published examples in museums depicting such idyllic scenes rendered in haku-e.
An almost identical table with similar ornamentation and minus the stretchers is published in the Book East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving collection and resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The original wooden box marked on the side with the owner’s name, description of the item and the designation of “唐物” meaning “goods imported from abroad.”