SHIBATA ZESHIN 柴田是真 (1807–1891) SWEET DISH IMITATING PEWTER 砂張盆写菓子器Edo period (1615–1868), circa 1855A roughly circular dish modelled in imitation of a hammered-pewter platter, the thin paper body lacquered in a mixture of charcoal powder, orpiment (arsenic sulphide), bengara (red iron oxide), and powdered tin, the somewhat-uneven rim relieved by pairs of small incisions at irregular intervals, the reverse of the rim with shallow scalloped decoration, the base with a nest of concentric squares; signed with incised characters on the base Zeshin 是真20.4–20.8cm (8–8¼in) diameterWith fitted wood tomobako, inscribed possibly by Zeshin himself, Seikaibon utsushi 青海盆ウツシ (Copy of a seikai tray), and with two auction slips (4)Provenance:Sold in these Rooms, 10 November 2015, lot 2注脚A very similar dish shown in the 2012 Zeshin exhibition at the Nezu Museum, dated 1855, was accompanied by a fitted wood tomobako box inscribed by the artist to the effect that it was a 'copy of a sahari tray', alluding to the metal alloy of that name made from lead, tin, and copper (Nezu Bijutsukan 2012, cat. no. 63). Zeshin here faithfully reproduces the hammer marks, mottled subdued colours, and somewhat irregular surface characteristic of earlier metal prototypes used in the tea ceremony, themselves imitations of pewter dishes used by sailors on Portuguese or Dutch ships that visited Japan from the 16th century. The title inscribed on the box accompanying this example, 'Copy of a seikai (literally, "blue sea") tray', may be an allusion to this exotic origin. Similar dishes continued to be made during the 20th century by Kyoto artists including Tanaka Hyōami (1881–1972); one example from the Wrangham Collection was sold in these Rooms, 5 November 2014, lot no. 232.