A JAPANESE KOMAI STYLE IRON MODEL OF A THREE-TIERED PAGODA

A JAPANESE KOMAI STYLE IRON MODEL OF A THREE-TIERED PAGODA

MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH OR 20TH CENTURY

Richly decorated in gold and silver nunome zogan, each tier with railings and doors opening to reveal one, two or three drawers, the lower tier decorated with dense patterns of vine leaves and with short flights of stairs on each side, the doors, sides and drawers decorated with complex patterns of mountainous river landscapes, flowers, ho-ho birds and phoenix, each corner with a small bell, the roof surmounted by a tall thin stupa, together with a fitted wooden stand raised on four feet, the frieze carved with openwork scrolls, 47.5cm overall. (8)

Provenance: from an English private collection acquired in Asia c.1920 and thence by descent.

Cf. J Earle, Splendors of Imperial Japan, Arts of the Meiji Period from the Khalili Collection, pp.86-87, no.37 for a comparable two-storey shrine by the Komai workshop. Also, see Asian Art, 15th November 2017, lot 788, for a comparable model of a three-tiered pagoda sold in these rooms.