Posted 3 years ago
kwqd
(1184 items)
This Japanese hikite is just under 4" in diameter, just over .25" high and the recessed center section is 2.25" in diameter. It is marked "MADE IN JAPAN" on the bottom. My friend in Japan identified its purpose for me. I had some pretty imaginative uses for it before that!
I also sent some images to an antique dealer in Japan and got the following assessment:
"Hi, it appears to be made of shakudo metal and the age is 18-19.century as far as i can judge from the pics…"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakud%C5%8D
So maybe Edo Period or later and was probably later marked for export due to its artistic/collectible value and exported for sale the U.S. Maker unknown. This identification is uncertain without further examination by an expert.
Hikite are used on sliding doors which are common in Japan. This is a pretty fancy one. The discoloration on the back may be from glue used to mount the pull into a sliding door. The mold work depicting a dragon and phoenix is amazingly detailed. It was sold to me as cast iron but when it arrived, I found it does not attract a magnet. I cannot see any assay marks on it but it appears to have significant buildup on the bottom which could be hiding a mark. I am struggling a bit to get really good images of the top, but my latest images are better. I will probably give it one more try to get "great" images on a sunny day.
In Chinese/Japanese culture the concept of yin and yang are often represented as male (dragon) and female (phoenix):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenghuang
I paid $10 for this, half of what the seller was asking and was pleased that they accepted my offer. I have no clue as to who made it. Guessing it is worth more than $10...
Nice piece...great price!
Thanks for your comments, dav2no1! I found additional information about the design of this piece. Now I wish I had taken time to put a magnet against it to confirm that it is iron. I wonder it if might be a bit fancier.
Thanks for loving my maybe hairpin dish Alfie21, Kevin, clockerman, Jenni, vcal,
Watchsearcher, fortapache, billretirecoll, dav2no1, jscott0363, Vynil33rpm and ho2cultcha!
Thanks for checking out my Japanese hairpin dish PhilDMorris!
I got better images. This piece does not attract a magnet. I think it is silver, but do not see any hallmarks. Not sure if Japanese silver pieces of this period (1920s-1930s?) have hallmarks? It could be that they are covered by the residue on the bottom, but I am going to leave this piece as is, because I think whatever is on the bottom may be a clue as to how this piece was used.
Thanks Blammoammo!
Mystery solved!
You've found your answer, so I will just add one or two comments on fusuma hikite in general, in case that's of interest. They are usually round, oval, or a squarish shape with a rounded frame.
Here's a YouTube video showing how it is used to open and close the fusuma or sliding door. Note, the hikite here is a very simple one, I'm sharing this mainly to show how it's used in a traditional room with tatami floor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmCwENEwe8c
The interior "saucer" section is often fairly plain, since over time it receives a fair bit of wear. Yours is so finely detailed that it may have been intended for some special use.
I've seen western collectors buy them and use them as frames for (very small) photographs. I have one that use as a candle holder from time to time. Also paid US $10 for it, but I think you scored the better bargain with yours!
Thanks for the information rhineisfine! I appreciate it. Did you see the companion piece to my yuteki tenmoku meoto yunomi set? It had data with it that identified the artist.
Thank you BonaFide and kivatinitz!
I had an expert in Japan take a look at this and his opinion is that it is made of Shakudo metal and dates to the 18th or 19th century.
well ask your expert if this could be an itado and ask your why this is edo
Thanks for your questions, apostata. I appreciate it! I have exhausted my free questions to my expert and entered the realm of pay for play. I don't want to start paying for his expertise unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I try not to spend too much on my hobbies and I am not investing or reselling, just having fun. My only concern would be if this is something special enough to add it to my letter of intent so that when I die it goes to the right place. Do you think it might be special enough to pursue further identification?
i was a bit has the expert niet imformed , because this to datamined versus the slight chance being itado, he ought to datamine this !!!
imo this is naga maru gata shape probably named after the tsuba ring shaping
it,s not a kobu shape inside, it ios a staight down inner circle
it is shakudo , but let,s be does he really believes this is 75 % copper !!!!!
i think this mejji and from the meijji its the rather late becauseit is florals before dragons so someting like
i am an layman in japanese art , actually i wonder if an expert would even assess this something later then fin the siecle
personnaly i am extremely interested how this ever could be edo,
something like 1880-1890
IMO the value the value is about dollars , i think this ought to be assessed for free by an assessor in seconds , it, is not rocket this ought to be client service
addendum50 dollars value
Thanks apostata! That is good enough for me. I just asked him if it was worth appraising and got some free information in reply. It sounded like he wanted to physically examine it which starts costing money, and I don't begrudge him that, I just was not interested in pursuing it, so let it drop.