Item number: X66

Year: AD 1953-2008

Material: Silver

Size: 91.8 x 44.5 mm

Weight: 84.92 g

Provenance: Osaka Minami Art Museum Co., Ltd. 2008

This specimen is a small silver goblet, which likely served as a spirit cup.

The rim of the vessel is rounded, and the stem seamlessly transitions into the base via a continuous curvilinear silhouette, with the interior remaining hollow. The body of the cup is densely and alternately covered with papillate ornamentation. The underside of the base features an incised inscription reading “銀製 光南” (Silver, manufactured by Kōnan).

The metalworking arts of early modern Japan trace their origins to the fabrication of sword fittings—such as tsuba (handguards) and fuchigashira (pommels and collars)—dating from the Heian to the Sengoku periods. During the Edo period, as the shogunate established its capital in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), silversmiths from various regions converged on the city, gradually crystallising into the “Tokyo Silverware” (Tōkyō ginki) system, with the craftsmen of the era known as shiroganeshi. Consequent to the Meiji Restoration in AD 1868 and the subsequent promulgation of the Haitōrei (Sword Abolition Edict), a vast number of formerly patronised metal artisans confronted an existential crisis. This compelled them to redirect the specialized techniques previously reserved for samurai sword accoutrements toward the manufacture of pure silver yubau (kettles) and kyūsu (teapot vessels) necessitated by the tea ceremony, as well as decorative objets d’art intended for Western export.

The core methodologies of Japanese metalwork are principally categorized into chūkin (casting), tankin (hammering/forging), and chōkin (chasing/engraving). While chūkin involves the formation of vessels through mold-casting, tankin denotes the iterative manual hammering and raising of metal sheet to yield a hollow body of uniform thickness. Throughout this hammering process, the silver undergoes work hardening and becomes increasingly brittle; thus, the artisan must periodically subject the material to annealing at opportune stages using residual heat to restore and maintain its ductility. Once the vessel body is roughly formed, surface ornamentation is executed employing various chōkin techniques. Artisans utilize an assortment of steel punches and chisels to chase, engrave, and repoussé the silver sheet from both the exterior surface and the interior facade, thereby generating a diverse array of surface textures.

In the lineage of modern Tokyo silverware, the hereditary school bearing the title “Ishiguro Kōnan” achieved renown for the tamashirare (hailstone pattern) technique within the discipline of chōkin (metal engraving and chasing). The terms tamashirare or arare-hada denote a meticulous process wherein a craftsman hammers neat, highly uniform, papillary granules across the body of a vessel. The first-generation Ishiguro Kōnan, Ishiguro Kenjirō, apprenticed under Kawachi Kōmei—himself a distinguished disciple of an Imperial Artist (Teishitsu Gigeiin). Kenjirō’s works garnered numerous accolades, and he was officially designated a Master of Traditional Crafts (Dentō Kōgeishi) in AD 1980. His successor, the second-generation Ishiguro Kōnan, Ishiguro Akio, was subsequently awarded the title of Master of Traditional Crafts within the Tokyo Silverware category in AD 1990.

Amidst the westernisation of the Meiji Restoration, traditional craftsmen were deprived of patronage from the shogunate and feudal lords, falling into severe economic destitution. To counter this, the Meiji government established the Imperial Artist designation in AD 1890, providing elite artisans with lifelong stipends and state commissions, thereby salvaging pinnacle artistic mastery from the brink of extinction. In the post-war era, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture extended this ethos by institutionalising the Holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties—popularly known as Living National Treasures (Ningen Kokubō)—in AD 1955. This shifted the preservation locus from individual artistic creations to the intangible transmission of craftsmanship itself, backed by annual state subsidies to fund apprenticeships, ensuring these peerless techniques would not perish with their masters. Concurrently, to insulate folk industries against the onslaught of industrialisation, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry enacted legislation in AD 1974 to introduce the Master of Traditional Crafts system. By implementing rigorous state examinations and a prerequisite threshold of over twelve years of practical experience, this initiative sought to revitalise hundreds of regional consumer craft production centres across Japan, thereby safeguarding the livelihoods of grassroots artisans and promoting cultural heritage.

物件編號: X66

年代: 公元 1953-2008 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 91.8 x 44.5 mm

重量: 84.92 g

來源: 大阪南美術藝術有限公司 2008

這是一個小型的高腳銀杯，可能作烈酒杯使用。

杯子口緣為圓弧狀，杯腳與座呈連續的弧線，內為空心。杯身則交替滿布乳突狀紋飾。杯座底有鐫銘「銀製 光南」。

日本近世的金工工藝源於平安至戰國時代刀劍裝飾(如鐔、緣頭)的打造。江戶時代幕府定都江戶(現東京)，各地的銀匠紛紛進駐，逐漸形成「東京銀器」體系，時稱銀師(しろがねし)。明治維新時期(公元1868年)，隨著「廢刀令」的頒布，大批御用金工職人面臨生存危機，被迫將原本用於武士刀配件的技藝，轉向製作茶道所需的純銀湯沸(銀壺)、急須壺以及外銷西方的藝術擺件。

日本金工的核心技術主要分為「鋳金(ちゅうきん)」、「鍛金(たんきん)」與「彫金(ちょうきん)」等。鑄金為開模成形。鍛金則是金屬的手工反覆搥打、延展成薄厚均勻的空心壺體；在敲擊過程中，銀因加工硬化而變得脆硬，職人必須適時利用餘熱進行退火(annealing/加熱軟化)，以維持金屬的延展性。當壺體大致成型後，再以各種彫金技術進行表面裝飾，職人運用各種鋼鏨，在銀片表面或由內而外進行鏨刻與雕琢，創作出各種紋理。

在近代東京銀器的傳承中，世襲「石黑光南」名號的家族流派，以彫金技法中的「玉霰(たまあられ)」成名。所謂的「玉霰」或「霰肌」，是指工匠在壺身上錘打出排列整齊、大小一致的乳突小顆粒。初代石黑光南，石黑憲次郎師承「帝室技藝員」的高徒河內光明，作品獲獎無數，公元1980年獲「傳統工藝士」稱號。二代石黑光南，石黑昭雄則於公元1990年獲「東京銀器」部門下的「傳統工藝士」稱號。

在明治維新的西化浪潮中，傳統工匠們失去幕府與藩主支持，生活陷入困頓，明治政府於公元1890年透過給予「帝室技藝員」稱號、終身年俸與國家委託等，成功拉拔了瀕臨絕嗣的頂尖藝術大師；二戰後，文部科學省延續其精神，於公元1955年創設了「重要無形文化財保持者」制度(即俗稱的「人間國寶」)，將焦點從早期的美術創作擴大至「工藝技術」本身的無形傳承，由國家每年撥款資助大師開班授徒，確保技術不隨肉身湮滅；與此同時，面對工業化巨浪對民間產業的衝擊，通商產業省於公元1974年立法推出了「傳統工藝士」制度，透過嚴格的國家考試與12年以上實務資歷的門檻，旨在振興全日本數百個地方民生工藝產地，保障基層職人的生計與文化推廣。