Pair Of Usubata Vases Japan Nineteenth Polychrome Gilt Bronze, Japanese Floral Art Ikebana Meiji

Old pair of Japanese vases. Usubata model. Golden ground with polychrome decoration of volatiles. Trays decorated with butterflies and flowers Work from the second half of the 19th century, Meiji era (1868-1912) Vases for the floral art of Ikebana 36cm high and 28cm in diameter. Composed of three removable elements. Set in very good condition. “Ikebana, one of Japan's traditional arts, has been practiced for over 600 years. It originates from the first offerings of flowers to the dead in Buddhist rites. Around the middle of the 15th century, with the appearance of the first classical styles, ikebana obtained its status as an art in its own right regardless of its religious origins. It is still no less charged with symbolic and philosophical nuances. The masters and their students were then recruited from the nobility and the clergy, but little by little many schools appeared, styles evolved and ikebana was practiced at all levels of Japanese society. The different forms of ikebana share a certain number of constants, whatever the period and the schools. Any plant material can be used: branches, leaves, grasses, mosses, fruits… Dead leaves or buds are as valuable as blooming flowers. An ikebana work can be composed of one or more materials, but the selection of each element requires a trained eye and their arrangement a refined know-how. It's about creating a beauty that doesn't exist in nature. What distinguishes ikebana from simple decoration is its asymmetrical shape and the use of empty space as the essential element of the composition. Another important factor is the harmony between the plants used, the vase and the location. We find all these characteristics in other forms of Japanese aesthetics, namely, traditional painting, the art of gardens, architecture or design.