Meiji Satsuma · The Osaka Studio
Yabu Meizan 藪明山
1853–1934Osaka
The definitive archive of the Meiji master of Satsuma miniature painting
Background: Working studio of Yabu Meizan, Osaka. From The International Studio, October 1910. · Pieces: © Bonhams · Auction photograph reproduced as a small credited thumbnail (max 400 px) at the owner's direction; not openly licensed; © Bonhams · Not openly licensed; auction photograph reproduced as a small credited thumbnail (max 400 px) at the owner's direction
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The Studio · 工房
A designer and his decorators
In October 1880 Yabu Meizan opened a workshop for the overglaze decoration of Satsuma ware at Nakanoshima, Osaka. The studio did not fire its own wares. It bought undecorated blanks, first from the Awata kilns of Kyoto and later from Chin Jukan in Kagoshima and Kinkozan in Kyoto, and covered them in enamel and gold painting of extraordinary fineness.
Meizan worked as designer and art director rather than as a lone craftsman. His designs were engraved on copper plates, printed onto thin paper and transferred to each blank as an underdrawing. Skilled decorators then painted processions, festivals, landscapes and millefleurs so minutely that some pieces need a magnifying glass to read.
“He had 17 men and boys at work, all decorating. He makes the designs and watches them carefully in executing the work.”
- Born
- 20 January 1853, Nagahori, Osaka
- Studio
- Nakanoshima, Osaka, 1880; Dōjima from about 1888
- Blanks
- Awata kilns (Kyoto), Chin Jukan (Kagoshima), Kinkozan (Kyoto)
- Method
- Copperplate-transfer underdrawings, painted in enamels and gold
- Successor
- Yabu Tsuneo (1868–1941), from 1926
- Died
- 2 May 1934
Masterpieces · 名品
A gallery of the studio’s work
明山工房の名品
Works in public collections, and the pieces Meizan sent to the world’s fairs of 1904 and 1910, from the exhibition catalogues of the day. Choose any piece to open its record.
- 69Catalogued works作品+23 under review
- 181Auction records落札記録+75 under review
- 9Museums and collections所蔵館
- 6Documented marks落款+1 under review
Chronology
A life in eleven dates
年譜
The Archive
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目録
Record Results
The highest prices at auction
最高落札額
- Large presentation vase with four relief panels — Bonhams, 2017USD 205,500
- Vase with frogs at play — Bonhams, 2014USD 93,750
- Covered jar with children in the snow (Tomkinson jar) — Bonhams, 2014GBP 52,500≈ USD 88,174
- Rare bowl, Ruth and Carl Barron Collection — Bonhams, 2014USD 87,500
- Satsuma vase with hollyhock-leaf chrysanthemum flourishes — Bonhams, 2017, lot 6253USD 75,000
Ranked on approximate US-dollar value at the sale-date reference rate (Bank of England for sterling; European Central Bank for euro and Australian dollar). Original currency shown first, as published by each auction house, usually including buyer’s premium.
Museums and Collections
In the world’s museums
所蔵美術館
- Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, London8 works
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London3 works
- British Museum, London3 works
- Osaka Museum of History2 works
- Minneapolis Institute of Art1 work
- Walters Art Museum, Baltimore1 work
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York1 work
- Ashmolean Museum, Oxford1 work
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College1 work
Authentication & Appraisal · 鑑定
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