Two Japanese Bronze Shells

About the Item

These charming bronze shells were cast in Japan in the 19th century. They lived for many years in the collection of the Paris artist Pierre Le-Tan. One of the shells is a lidded box in the form of an abalone (3 3/4" wide). Inside, it has a mottled-green patination that replicates the mother-of-pearl lining found in natural specimens. The other shell is a dolphin snail (2" high). When turned upside down, it sits on stubby spikes to serve as a small cup. Both the abalone and the dolphin snail are found off the coasts of Japan, an island nation surrounded by the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, the Philippine Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese have always been keen observers of nature. This is not unconnected to their indigenous religion of Shinto, which is based on the principle that spirits, or kami, inhabit all things in nature. This predisposed the Japanese to collect natural specimens, like rocks and shells, which they prized for the beauty of their forms. Not surprisingly, the most important collection of shells in the world is said to have been formed by the Japanese emperors. One particularly rare one is called the emperor’s shell, because, whenever a fisherman found one, he was obliged to surrender it to the ruler. In Europe, from the 16th to the 18th century, shells were also collected by kings, aristocrats, and learned men, who incorporated them in their cabinets of curiosities. Only in Japan, however, did collectors convene to contemplate them one by one. In an exercise of poetic free association, each participant compared a shell’s form to that of something else — perhaps a cloud, dragon, bird, or feminine hairstyle.

Dimensions:

Height: 2 in (5.08 cm)Diameter: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)

Sold As:

Set of 2

Style:

Edo (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Bronze

Place of Origin:

Japan

Period:

19th Century