Imperial presentation – A very large early 20^th century Japanese silver bowl, Tokyo circa 1900 by Hirata Shigemitsu (1855-1926)

Meiji period, of circular form upon a pedestal domed foot. Double wall interior. The body with embossed decoration of chrysanthemums bouquets either side of three sixteen-petal chrysanthemum kikumon of the Imperial Household. The stem with overlapping leaves. Marked underneath Shigemitsu, seal mark Suihitsu sei (made by Suihitsu Workshop) and jungin mark.

Diameter – 36.7 cm / 14.5 inches

Height – 23.9 cm / 9.45 inches

Weight – 3531 grams / 113.52 ozt

For an identically worked bowl (marks placed in a different order) sold Christie’s New York 18 March 2014, lot 522 ($37,500 incl. premium)

Another form of imperial presentation bowl by the same maker was sold Sotheby’s London, 3 Nov 2020, Lot 112 (£22,680 incl. premium)

Hirata Shigemitsu was one of the most prominent metal-hammering craftsmen of the Meiji period. He produced work mainly for the Imperial Household and also exhibited regularly in international exhibitions. Along with Kurokawa Eishō (1854-1917), who also worked with the Kōnoike Company of Yokohama, Hirata initiated the metal-hammering division of the Tokyo Chokokai (Tokyo Society of Metal Artists), founded in 1887. Examples with Hirata's workshop seal "Suihitsu sei" are very rare.

For a pair of silver vases by Hirata Shigemitsu in the collection of the Imperial Household, see The Era of Meiji Bijutsu-kai and Nihon Kinko Kyokai, in Meiji bijutsu saiken I (Reappraisal of Meiji Art I) (Tokyo: Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, 1995), no. 27.