Jar with bud-form finial and bird and flower design,

ca. 1900

These two cloisonné objects represent the masterful technique that Japanese enamel artisans had achieved by the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The round jar is decorated with wisteria blossoms, flowers, birds, and butterflies in silver wire and colored enamels against a background of glossy black enamel, and has a similarly decorated lid with a bud-form finial. It is signed Namikawa of Kyoto (Namikawa Yasuyuki) on a silver plaque at the base. Namikawa Yasuyuki, along with ­Namikawa So ̄kyosuke (1847–1910), was one of the most famous Japanese enamelers. He expanded both the aesthetic and the technical boundaries of the medium and is particularly known for his invention of glossy black enamel, which he began producing in 1879. The slender vase has a short, flared neck and is decorated with trailing wisteria blossoms in colored enamels on a light blue ground. Stamped on the base is the name Goto ̄, for Goto ̄ Seizaburo ̄, as well as a mark that indicates pure silver was used for the vase. Goto ̄ ran a large cloisonné factory in the city of Yokohama with the cooperation of Tanaka Kichisaburo ̄, who, like So ̄suke, had trained with the German scientist Gottfried von Wagner (1831–1891). Wagner was largely responsible for introducing important technical features of later Japanese ­cloisonné production. During the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, Japanese cloisonné methods underwent a rapid transition. Artisans began to examine and copy objects imported from China that featured complex, thin wire supports and dividers (cloisons), and then to work directly with European artisans. The result was an ability to create subtle cloisonné surfaces over ceramic; and copper, gold, or silver vessels that featured minimal use of supporting cloisons, as well as the use of gold and silver cloisons for compositional effect. Most of these works were produced for export to Europe, where their high level of craftsmanship was much admired.