KINZAN: A CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL SQUARE TRAY WITH COCKEREL AND HEN By the Kinzan company, signed Kinzan and with seal Kinzan Japan, late 19th - early 20th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Of rounded square form, the design after a painting by Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918), worked in copper wire with a cockerel, hen, and chick against a pale-blue ground, bordered by a band of half-chrysanthemum blossoms and stylized tendrils on a brown ground, the underside decorated with a large peony blossom issuing tendrils above a blue ground, signed KINZAN with a two red seals KINZAN. SIZE 27.9 x 27.9 cm WEIGHT 1,302 g Condition: Good overall condition, some wear, manufacturing flaws including pitting, small hairlines, few minor losses to the enamels, light surface scratches. Provenance: From a private collection, Zagreb. Literature comparison: The design of the present object is inspired by a painting of rooster and hen with chicks by Watanabe Seitei, a famous artist of the Meiji period (1868-1912), who worked closely with Namikawa Sosuke. Compare a related painting of rooster and hen with chick by Watanabe Seitei, circa 1887, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 14.76.61.54. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related square tray with near-identical motif by Kinzan, of closely related size (27.6 x 27.5 cm), at Bonhams, Polish and Poise Japanese Art Across the Centuries, 12 May 2022, London, lot 220 ( sold for 2,805 GBP ). Compare a related square tray with near-identical motif, attributed to Namikawa Sosuke, 19th century, at Christie`s, Innovative Japanese Design: Art of the Meiji Period, 18 November 2015, New York, lot 10 ( sold for 13,750 USD ).