OTSUEI FOR THE NOGAWA COMPANY: A MASTERFUL INLAID BRONZE VASE DEPICTING A SPIDER HANGING FROM A PLUM BRANCH By Otsuei for the Nogawa Company, with company mark and signed Otsuei with kakihan Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) The tall slender body rising to a waisted neck with everted lipped rim, the sides finely decorated in iro-e takazogan with a masterful gold spider hanging by a single thread from its irregularly constructed web around a thin prunus branch bearing leaves with serrated edges, slowly opening buds, and a single blossom, the base with the Nogawa Company mark, the reverse signed OTSUEI with a kakihan. HEIGHT 36 cm WEIGHT 2,684 g Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Founded in Kyoto in 1825, during the Meiji era the Nogawa Company developed into a commissioning house that showed at major international expositions between 1893 and 1910 as well as at the Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Industrial Promotion Exhibitions) in 1881 and 1890. The company had a popular store which was on the "must-see" list for international globetrotters, as well as showrooms in the Kyoto and Miyako Hotels. Auction comparison: Compare a related bronze vase, signed Otsuno with kakihan and with Nogawa Company mark, 32 cm high, also depicting a spider hanging from its web, at Christie`s, 18 May 2012, London, lot 151 ( sold for 27,500 GBP ). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer`s premium – only for buyers within the EU.