A flowing design of chrysanthemum, executed in contrasting shades of gold maki-e, wraps itself around the base, stem and top platform of this sumptuous display piece. It is likely that the work was designed for bearing offerings in Shinto ceremonies. The style has a painterly quality in the rendition of the myriad flower petals. The whole is set against a ground of gold nashi-ji on black lacquer.

It is the design work of the Kyoto artist – Kamisaka Sekka – widely credited as a pioneer of Japanese modern design following the societal upheavals of the Meiji Restoration. Execution of the piece is by his younger brother, Yukichi, 21 years his junior. 

Born in the closing years of the Edo period, Sekka was the eldest son of a court samurai working at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. In his early years he witnessed the virtual collapse of Kyoto’s traditional arts, caused by Japan’s enforced modernisation and the decline of patronage from the former great families. Sekka’s life was to become dedicated to reviving Kyoto’s arts to find their place in a modern Japan. In 1890 the Kyoto Bijutsu Kyokai, Kyoto Arts Association, was founded to promote the arts through exhibition and publication. As a designer, Sekka became a central figure in this movement, working across a broad range of media including textiles, painting, ceramic and lacquer. By 1900 Yukichi was also closely involved, regularly receiving prizes for his lacquer work. His collaboration with Sekka resulted in an impressive body of work very much in a tradition of such collaboration between Kyoto’s artists. Although Sekka is perhaps best known for his revival and advancement of the Rinpa style of design, as seen here, his creativity worked across a range of Japan’s traditional artistic expressions.