打込象嵌花器「冬の木立」|Winter Grove (Fuyu no kodachi) Flower Container

Okuyama Hōseki 奥山峰石

1997 · Hammered silver with inlaid copper and gold alloy (shakudō), copper and silver alloy (shibuichi) · Asian Art

The silver flower container bears a depiction of a forest by night, the outlines of the dark trees shown as if lit by the moon. The poetic design looks like an ink painting, but its refined, delicate lines were cut from thin metal sheets and soldered onto the surface, then hammered so that they lie flush with the ground. The artist became a Living National Treasure in 1995, in recognition of his skills in hammering (tankin).

Artist

Okuyama Hōseki 奥山峰石

Date

1997

Medium

Hammered silver with inlaid copper and gold alloy (shakudō), copper and silver alloy (shibuichi)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Hayashi Kaoru, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020