Meiji Bronzes: Takaoka Casting and the Art of Inlay
The bronzes of the Meiji era (1868–1912) are among the most technically astonishing metalwork ever made. Vases, incense burners and sculptures of birds, dragons and warriors poured out of Japanese workshops for the world exhibitions and for Western homes, and the best of them remain unsurpassed.
From swords to vases
Japan had a long tradition of bronze casting for temple bells, Buddhist images and incense burners. When the wearing of swords was banned in 1876, a generation of metalworkers who had made sword fittings needed new work. The government encouraged them to make art for export, and their skills in chiselling, inlay and patination were turned on vases and sculpture.
Takaoka
The city of Takaoka in Toyama has been a centre of bronze casting since the early seventeenth century, when the Maeda lords invited casters to settle there. In the Meiji era it became the largest producer of decorative bronzes, and it still makes most of Japan's bronze today. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka had their own workshops, often producing the most refined pieces.
Techniques
- Lost-wax casting. A wax model is coated in clay, the wax melted out and molten bronze poured in. It allows deep undercuts and fine detail.
- Chasing. After casting, surfaces are worked by hand with chisels and punches to sharpen feathers, scales and waves.
- Inlay. Known as zōgan, it sets gold, silver, copper and alloys into the surface. Shakudō, copper with a little gold, patinates to a blue-black; shibuichi, copper with silver, turns soft grey.
- Patination. Chemical treatments give bronze its warm brown, black or reddish surface. An original patina is a large part of a piece's value.
Makers
Many fine Meiji bronzes are signed. Among the best-known names are Suzuki Chōkichi, appointed an Imperial Household Artist; the Miyao company of Yokohama, famous for gilt bronze figures of samurai and dancers; and Genryūsai Seiya, known for dramatic animal and figure groups. Signatures usually appear in a cast or engraved cartouche on the base or lower body, sometimes beside a mark reading Dai Nihon, Great Japan.
Bronze or spelter
Cheaper decorative metalwork was made in spelter, a zinc alloy, in Japan and elsewhere, and many later reproductions copy Meiji designs.
- Weight. Bronze is heavy and dense. Spelter feels lighter for its size.
- Colour beneath. At a worn spot or on the inside, bronze shows a golden or reddish metal; spelter shows grey.
- Detail. Hand-chased bronze has crisp, varied detail. Cast-only pieces look soft, with blurred edges and casting pits.
- Inlay. True inlay is set into channels in the surface. Applied paint or gilding is a sign of a lesser piece.
Care
Never polish a bronze. Polishing removes the patina and with it much of the value. Dust with a soft brush, keep pieces dry and handle them with clean hands or gloves.