Lot 317 , A pair of Japanese silver wire cloisonne enamel hexagonal vases, Meiji period, height 15.5cm

A pair of Japanese silver wire cloisonne enamel hexagonal vases, Meiji period, decorated with birds amid flowers, on a midnight blue ground, marks to base, height 15.5cm
Estimate £100-150

The first vase has some occasional minor scratches to the enamel and the second vase has a large area of sprayed restored to the shoulder to the side of the cloisonne work which is darker and peeling slightly in places, there are also some fine stress cracks towards the base of the vase and the foot has been dented in slightly. The vase has two tiny lighter patches on the top rim, which are in manufacture, there are a few tiny losses to the gilding and silvering all over but on the whole the gilding is largely in good condition, no restoration, chips or cracks.


Provenance: Formerly the property of Leonard Harry Baybut (1900-1960) and thence by descent.

Having served in the RAF in World War I, Leonard Baybut went to India and, by 1935, was running his own furniture factory in Srinagar. In the mid-1940's, as a result of being awarded the contract to refurnish Gulab Bhavan, the summer palace of the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, he struck up an enduring friendship with the last Maharaja, Hari Singh (1895-1961). The relationship developed further when Leonard accepted the post of private secretary to the Maharaja in 1948-9, a position he held until ill-health forced him to retire and return to England in 1959.


Descriptions provided in both printed and on-line catalogue formats do not include condition reports. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to request a condition report on any lots upon which they intend to bid, prior to placing a bid. All transactions are governed by Gorringes Conditions of Sale.

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