619

American Aesthetic Movement Shibayama-Mounted Rosewood Vitrine

fourth quarter 19th century, in the Japonesque taste, probably about 1880-1884, New York, in the manner of Herter Brothers, Pottier & Stymus or a competitor of equal rank, in two parts, the upper section with a pair of carved Komainu at each end guarding over the contents, perched atop a molded cornice and a frieze mounted with shibayama plaques interspersed by carved panels depicting prunus blooms, vines and leaves, over a sliding beveled glass door, opening to expose an interior with an array of shelves, retaining their period silk velvet lining, on a base with a scalloped carved apron, shaped legs on paw feet and resting on a low plinth base; the piece appears to be Brazilian rosewood with oak or ash frame elements, white pine and poplar.
h. 77", w. 44-1/2", d. 20"

Notes: The designer's decision to employ shibayama plaques is illustrative of the contemporaneous fascination with Japonisme and the tendency of the exclusive firms making bespoke "art furniture" for their robber baron clients to employ the finest, most costly materials in their pieces. An art form first introduced to the West at the Paris World Exposition in 1867, its popularity continued to consolidate after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Many export works containing shibayama designs are associated with Yokohama, after this port city became a destination for craftsmen of the art. However, the panels we see here are more indicative of the smaller, delicate works crafted during the late Edo/early Meiji period, rather than the larger pieces produced out of Yokohama that were often designed to cater to the tastes of the Western market.

While shibayama panels are occasionally utilized in Japanese furniture, their appearance in Western pieces is exceedingly rare. A number of pieces by the French firm of Gabriel Viardot employ panels that simulate shibayama. Those appear to have been made by the firm in their own shop. The Parisian Bronze Foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne employed Meiji shibayama work in some of its creations. In the United States, Pottier & Stymus employed plaques of similar size and composition to those in the present piece in a cabinet commissioned by Jabez Bostwick, the Secretary/Treasurer of Standard Oil. That piece sold in this gallery May 31, 2020, lot 1033. Two rosewood easels with shibayama on a wood ground have also sold since the millennium.

fourth quarter 19th century, in the Japonesque taste, probably about 1880-1884, New York, in the manner of Herter Brothers, Pottier & Stymus or a competitor of equal rank, in two parts, the upper section with a pair of carved Komainu at each end guarding over the contents, perched atop a molded cornice and a frieze mounted with shibayama plaques interspersed by carved panels depicting prunus blooms, vines and leaves, over a sliding beveled glass door, opening to expose an interior with an array of shelves, retaining their period silk velvet lining, on a base with a scalloped carved apron, shaped legs on paw feet and resting on a low plinth base; the piece appears to be Brazilian rosewood with oak or ash frame elements, white pine and poplar.
h. 77", w. 44-1/2", d. 20"

  • Notes: The designer's decision to employ shibayama plaques is illustrative of the contemporaneous fascination with Japonisme and the tendency of the exclusive firms making bespoke "art furniture" for their robber baron clients to employ the finest, most costly materials in their pieces. An art form first introduced to the West at the Paris World Exposition in 1867, its popularity continued to consolidate after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Many export works containing shibayama designs are associated with Yokohama, after this port city became a destination for craftsmen of the art. However, the panels we see here are more indicative of the smaller, delicate works crafted during the late Edo/early Meiji period, rather than the larger pieces produced out of Yokohama that were often designed to cater to the tastes of the Western market.

    While shibayama panels are occasionally utilized in Japanese furniture, their appearance in Western pieces is exceedingly rare. A number of pieces by the French firm of Gabriel Viardot employ panels that simulate shibayama. Those appear to have been made by the firm in their own shop. The Parisian Bronze Foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne employed Meiji shibayama work in some of its creations. In the United States, Pottier & Stymus employed plaques of similar size and composition to those in the present piece in a cabinet commissioned by Jabez Bostwick, the Secretary/Treasurer of Standard Oil. That piece sold in this gallery May 31, 2020, lot 1033. Two rosewood easels with shibayama on a wood ground have also sold since the millennium.
  • Condition: **In good, original "as found" condition. The case is sturdy and functional. The surface appears to be an original finish exhibiting areas of rubbing and loss, normal minor mars, shrinkage and indications of age and use.

    There are some scattered small inlay losses to the shibayama panels. Some panels somewhat warped/cusped.

    There is a small shrinkage gap at one corner of the mitered joint of the front sliding glass door. The tenon there is intact and the joint doesn't exhibit any obvious movement.

    The beveled glass panel for one side of the case is presently detached. There are losses to the half-round molding that secures it on three sides. That molding will need to be replaced to properly secure the glass. There is a shallow chip/splinter loss at one corner of the molded piece framing the glass, about 3/4" high and 2-1/4" long.

    Some scattered veneer repairs to the vertical edge of the base shelf.

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