Wood-Grain Metal Vase

2019
Not on view
In 2010 Tamagawa was designated a Living National Treasure for his distinguished hammering (tankin) technique. He was born in Niigata Prefecture into a family of copperware masters, and from 1963 to 1965 he apprenticed in Toyko with Sekiya Shirō (1907–1994), a Living National Treasure. Wood-grain metal (mokume-gane) is a multi-alloy laminate with distinctive layered patterns, which often resembles the grain of wood or the look of marble.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 木目金花瓶
  • Title: Wood-Grain Metal Vase
  • Artist: Tamagawa Norio 玉川宣夫 (Japanese, born 1942)
  • Period: Heisei period (1989–2019)
  • Date: 2019
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hammered silver, copper, and copper and gold alloy (shakudō)
  • Dimensions: H. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm); Diam. 8 1/4 in. ( 21 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Gift of Hayashi Kaoru, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020
  • Object Number: 2020.390.3
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Tamagawa Norio
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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