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Lot 144
An ivory carving of Kannon floating on a lotus leaf
MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY), SIGNED ON UNDERSIDE KOMEI (ISHIKAWA KOMEI; 1852-1913) AND SEALED ISHI
Closed11 September 2012
Price Realised
USD 74,500
More Information
Specialist note
The Japonism movement in Europe and America encouraged an enormous increase in the export art market from Japan. Ivory craftsmen in flux after the societal changes wrought by the restoration of the emperor in 1867 responded to this demand, adapting traditional techniques to work designed for the West. But those ivory products were never regarded as works of art and the market for ivory entered a downturn. Ironically, this depression inspired serious young ivory artists, such as Ishikawa Komei, to reconceive ivory carving as sculptural fine art. Their efforts greatly promoted the modernization of Japanese sculpture in the Meiji period.
Ishikawa Komei was born in Tokyo. He learned painting under Kano Sosen (1765-1826) and ivory carving under the netsuke artist Kikugawa Masamitsu (1844-1867). In 1879 he cofounded the Kankokai (Industrial Promotion Association) with several prominent ivory carvers, including Kaneda Kenjiro (1847-?) and Asahi Gyokuzan (1843-1923). The following year the group changed its name, and by 1886 the society was sponsoring annual sculpture competitions. Komei, Kenjiro and Gyokuzan went on to form the influential Tokyo Chokokai (Tokyo Sculptors Association) in 1887.
In recognition of his skill and stature, Komei was appointed an Artist to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu Gigeiin) in 1890 along with Takamura Koun (1852-1934), another leading sculptor of the same period. Both also served as professors at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
For a standing ivory Kannon by Komei, see The Shoto Museum of Art et al., Nihon no zoge bijutsu: Meiji no zoge chokoku o chushin ni History of Japanese Ivory Carving: Gebori-Okimono and Shibayama of Meiji Period (Tokyo: The Shoto Museum of Art, 1996), color plate, p. 91. For his 1900 ivory figure of a falconer, shown in the Paris International Exposition and now in the Museum of Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo, see Tokyo National Museum et al., Seiki no saiten: Bankoku hakurankai no bijutsu Arts of East and West from World Expositions (Tokyo: NHK, NHK Promotion Co., Ltd.; Nihon Keizai Shinbun, Inc., 2004), pl. I-289.
Ishikawa Komei was born in Tokyo. He learned painting under Kano Sosen (1765-1826) and ivory carving under the netsuke artist Kikugawa Masamitsu (1844-1867). In 1879 he cofounded the Kankokai (Industrial Promotion Association) with several prominent ivory carvers, including Kaneda Kenjiro (1847-?) and Asahi Gyokuzan (1843-1923). The following year the group changed its name, and by 1886 the society was sponsoring annual sculpture competitions. Komei, Kenjiro and Gyokuzan went on to form the influential Tokyo Chokokai (Tokyo Sculptors Association) in 1887.
In recognition of his skill and stature, Komei was appointed an Artist to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu Gigeiin) in 1890 along with Takamura Koun (1852-1934), another leading sculptor of the same period. Both also served as professors at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
For a standing ivory Kannon by Komei, see The Shoto Museum of Art et al., Nihon no zoge bijutsu: Meiji no zoge chokoku o chushin ni History of Japanese Ivory Carving: Gebori-Okimono and Shibayama of Meiji Period (Tokyo: The Shoto Museum of Art, 1996), color plate, p. 91. For his 1900 ivory figure of a falconer, shown in the Paris International Exposition and now in the Museum of Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo, see Tokyo National Museum et al., Seiki no saiten: Bankoku hakurankai no bijutsu Arts of East and West from World Expositions (Tokyo: NHK, NHK Promotion Co., Ltd.; Nihon Keizai Shinbun, Inc., 2004), pl. I-289.