Beschreibung:

Lot details Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Superbly decorated in gold and iro-e takamaki-e and aogai inlay against a wood grain ground with a dense and colorful composition of two peacocks above a gushing stream amid rocks and flowering peony below two fluttering butterflies, the ends with brocade as well as gold takamaki-e prunus blossoms with bone-inlaid centers, one end further lacquered in gold hiramaki-e with waterwheels. LENGTH 122 cm Condition: Overall good condition, minor wear, traces of use, small chips and nicks, light scratches, few small losses and holes due to worm or insect activity, flaking and minor losses to lacquer, one foot and some bridges (ji) lost, the underside with few minor old repairs. Provenance: From an old French private collection. The koto is a Japanese plucked half-tube zither instrument, and the national instrument of Japan. It is derived from the Chinese zheng and se, and similar to the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and ajaeng, the Vietnamese dan tranh, the Sundanese kacapi and the Kazakhstan jetigen. Koto are made from Paulownia wood (Paulownia tomentosa, known as kiri). Museum comparison: Compare a closely related koto, dated c. 1891, from the Wakamura workshop, similarly decorated in takamaki-e with roosters and flowers, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 69.271.3. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related koto, similarly lacquered with roosters, chrysanthemum, and butterflies, 105 cm long, at Galerie Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 3 December 2021, Vienna, lot 178 (sold for 10,112 EUR).