TWO JAPANESE BRONZE KAMA (KETTLES)

TWO JAPANESE BRONZE KAMA (KETTLES)
20TH CENTURY

One attributed to Miyazaki Kanchi VIII, 22cm and 19cm. (6)

The larger of Amidado type, with a bulbous body and a pair of small side handles, the patinated cover with a reticulated chrysanthemum finial, in a tomobako wood box inscribed 'this is made by Miyazaki Kanchi VIII, aka Miyazaki Yoshimitsu (d. 1803), the work is mumei (unsigned), attested by Miyazaki Kanchi XIII'; the smaller tetsubin of unryū gama (dragon kettle) type, of tapering cylindrical form with a pair of side handles, decorated in low relief with a scaly dragon amongst clouds, the cover with a chrysanthemum and tetradecagonal finial and a ring handle; a single character to the base; also with a tomobako wood box, inscribed ' an iron kettle in unryu style, made by Shason Kakutani, with the seal Kakutani'.

Kakutani Shason was active during the Showa Period and worked in Osaka.

An Amidado kama (tea kettle) is a specific style of Japanese iron tea kettle (tetsubin) used in the Japanese tea ceremony, characterized by a rounded body with a distinctive, often ornate knob resembling the roof of an Amida Buddha hall (Amidado).