Imperial Presentation Vase with Lilies and Imperial Crest

The raised sections of this vase were achieved using the moriage (“heaped-up”) cloisonné technique rather than through repoussé metalwork (hammering out the substrate from the (interior), thus representing a significant advancement in Japanese enameling. To make moriage, additional enamels are layered onto existing ones prior to a final firing. Both moriage and repoussé were thought to have been inspired by the protuberant enamels exhibited by Western craftsman at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle. Japanese moriage first appeared at the Osaka 1903 Fifth Domestic Exposition, presented by Kawade Shibatarō and the Andō Company. Here, the maker has carefully varied the shades of enamels within raised areas to subtly model the image and further enhance the three-dimensional effect.

The vase bears the signature of Hattori Tadasaburō—like Andō, a Purveyor to the Imperial Household (Goyōtatsu). Hattori first showed moriage pieces at the Saint Louis 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, one year after Kawade and Andō exhibited at Osaka, but it is possible he had developed the technique as early as or earlier than they. About 1905 Hattori acknowledged his artistic connection to Ogata Kōrin by adopting “Kōrin” as his art name; his Tokyo shop was nicknamed Shippō Kōrin, or Kōrin Cloisonné Enamel.