Pair of antique Japanese Meiji era bronze elephant and pagoda incense burners

Pair of antique Japanese Meiji era bronze elephant and pagoda incense burners
Japanese, Late 19th Century
Sculpture: Height 151cm, width 122cm, depth 43cm
Base: Height 56cm, width 82cm, depth 40cm
Overall: Height 207cm, width 122cm, depth 43cm
 
This outstanding pair of incense burners, also known as koro in Japanese, was crafted in the late 19th century during the Meiji era. This was a time when, for the first time in almost three centuries, Japan opened its borders to foreign trade, causing a wave of Japanese artefacts to enter the European market. The antiques in Mayfair Gallery’s collection were mostly crafted for the export market, for the adornment of Western interiors.
 
Each incense burner is cast from bronze and decorated using the processes of patination and gilding. The prominent elephants are dressed in lavish coverings, such as a saddle with dragons and flowers. A beaded covering also adorns their backs, and a headdress tops their heads. The upward trunk is symbolic of good luck and in Japanese Buddhism, these animals are believed to represent the unity of opposites. The various bronze finishing techniques are wonderfully executed, especially on the animals’ large ears.
 
Extending from their back is a three-tier pagoda. All levels are cast with shaped windows, pierced galleries, and animals. Some features such as the windows are adorned with cast plants, for example, grape vines. The same motifs can also be spotted on the friezes below the three roofs creating cohesion in the design. Mythological creatures are cast on the roofs while their edges are mounted with fish, roosters, and dragons. Topping the two pagods are large roosters, a very important animal within Japanese culture, believed to symbolise courage. The pagodas can be lifted off, revealing a space for incense within the elephants.
 
Prominent marble plinths support the two incense burners, their light colouration complementing the bronze.
 
One of the antiques is marked ‘Dai Nippon Osaka fu shita-ju Hasegawa… Toyokuni zo’ (‘made by Hasegawa … Toyokuni, a resident of Osaka of Great Japan’).
 
Celebrating the rich Japanese culture, these antiques are a very desirable addition to one’s collection.