Pair of vases in elongated baluster forms, ornamented with marshland motifs of wading and flying egrets against a pale grey ground, the necks with the Imperial chrysanthemum crest. Executed in cloisonné enamels in silver wire, as well as musen wireless and shosen reduced wire techniques, the Imperial crests executed in gold wire. With applied silver mounts. Signed on the reverse in silver wire with the Ando mark (Ando Jubei, 1876 – 1953). Late Meiji era, circa 1900 – 1912.

Ando Jubei created some of the finest enamels ever made. His role in the process was closer to that of an art director than that of artist or craftsman. In this, he was little different than many of the famous names associated with the production of Meiji period art, whether in the medium of enamels, metalwork, or even ceramics. Complex enamels such as these required the collaborative efforts of many specialists. Sometimes the designs themselves were commissioned from professional Nihonga painters. For example, Watanabe Shotei provided many of the drawings for the Tokyo enameller Namikawa Sosuke. A hammering specialist would create the metal body and fashion the rims. Other specialists affixed the fine wires which held the glass powders. Another craftsmen specialized in the ground glass itself, while yet another would oversee the critical firing of the work in the kiln. Apparently this was such a difficult process that for Imperial commissions such as this, it was common for several duplicate sets to be made at once. Too often one or more would be badly damaged in the kiln, and failure to deliver an order from the Imperial Household Agency was unthinkable.

While Ando Jubei made enamels in different grades and price ranges, what he made as a supplier to the court was uniformly of very high quality. These were often intended to be given as presentation gifts from the Emperor or Empress to important individuals and dignitaries on special occasions. The tradition of gift giving in Japan encouraged the rich government-sponsored patronage of the arts that lasted up until the Pacific War. This continued afterwards on a more modest scale with the occasional purchase of exhibition pieces by government ministries.

These Imperial presentation vases resemble fine Nihonga painting, though in the difficult medium of melted glass. The blue and green coloration echoes brushwork, as if daubed on by a painter. A sense of depth is achieved by the lighter toned reeds fading into the mist. Enamel work of this quality represented the highest levels ever achieved. Creating them required great expense, time, and remarkable craftsmanship in partnership with Imperial patronage. That world only lasted a generation, ending abruptly with the descent into the chaos of the 2nd World War.