Antique Japanese Yokohama-e Porcelain Plate - Samurai on Horseback - Meiji Period - Signed Ikkei - 3371

Summary

A late Meiji period Japanese porcelain plate in the Yokohama-e export tradition, painted with two mounted samurai crossing water in a winter landscape, signed by the artist Ikkei and made by Nakamura of Yokohama.

Description

The scene fills the well of the plate with considerable ambition: in the foreground a samurai on a grey horse caparisoned in salmon pink, the animal's musculature and expression rendered with real anatomical care, while a second mounted warrior crosses the water behind him. Both figures are painted in full yoroi armour - the lacing, sashimono banner, kabuto and kuwagata horns picked out with the kind of precision that separates a named artist's work from the anonymous workshop pieces that make up most Yokohama-e export production. A weeping willow and bare winter tree occupy the upper register, their grey-ink brushwork giving the composition a seasonal stillness that sits in deliberate contrast to the movement below.

Note the interesting detail just above and to the left of the distant samurai, small raised flecks of white enamel forming a flock of distant birds in the sky.

The gilt and black border carries a partial mon device - a detail that rewards close looking and suggests the plate was made with a specific patron or presentation context in mind.

The base carries a two-part iron-red script mark reading 日本横浜中村造 一溪画 - 'Nihon Yokohama Nakamura Zō, Ikkei Ga' - identifying the maker as Nakamura of Yokohama and the painter as Ikkei. Named artist signatures on Yokohama-e export ware are uncommon; most pieces of this type leave the painter anonymous.

Condition

Very light wear for period. The gilded border retains good coverage. No chips, cracks or repairs noted.

Approximate Measurements

• Diameter: 21.5cm [8.5in]
• Material: Porcelain
• Weight: 276 grams

Stock Code: 3371 JL26-1

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