Spider with Pomegranates

Zhu Lian

Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 1900

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Nanakusa (Seven Herbs of Early Spring), from Momoyogusa (A World of Things), Volume 3, Kamisaka Sekka, ink and color on paper
Ku-000. A small piece, yet one that has one of the master silversmith’s particularly fine elephants, outfitted in decorated caparison, as it would have been for a durbar. There were grand durbars in Delhi in 1903 and 1911—the latter of which, the only one attended by a reigning monarch, George V, was called, at the time, “the greatest spectacle the world has ever seen” and referred to later as “the last hurrah of the raj.” (A durbar was a highly choreographed official court parade, complete with elaborately uniformed soldiers marching and camels and elephants bedecked in jeweled bridles and blankets.) One side of this card case is ornamented by the elephant, against a foliate background, while the other side bears a cartouche engraved “M.H.” Referencing either one of the durbars would have made this piece a fashionable accessory in which a gentleman of the raj could carry his calling cards.
Pedestal Cup with Rectangular Piercings, missing matching lid that usually should accompany the work. Includes lip to shoulder the missing lid.
Actors Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I as Tsubone Iwafuji and Bandō Hikosabuō V as Ohatsu, Toyohara Kunichika, ink and color on paper