THREE JAPANESE IRON TETSUBIN (TEA KETTLES)

THREE JAPANESE IRON TETSUBIN (TEA KETTLES)
MEIJI OR LATER, 19TH/20TH CENTURY

Two a pair decorated with irises in low relief, both with a lacquer cover; the third decorated with raised dots and with a signature to the front, 21.5cm max. (6)

Provenance: from the collection of Dr Richard Brown, and thence by descent.

Dr. Richard F. Brown (1898-1963) was a Canadian Anglican missionary doctor who served in China, most notably at St. Paul's Hospital in Henan, starting around 1930. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he became a field doctor, providing urgent medical aid near the front lines and famously collaborating with fellow Canadian Dr. Norman Bethune in 1938 to treat wounded soldiers.