Pair Of Usubata Vases Japan 19th Century Polychrome Gilt Bronze Japanese Floral Art Ikebana Meiji Asia

Antique pair of Japanese vases.
Usubata model.
Gilded base with polychrome decoration of birds.
Trays decorated with butterflies and flowers.
Work from the second half of the 19th century, Meiji era (1868-1912).
Vases for the floral art of Ikebana.
36cm high and 28cm in diameter.
Composed of three removable elements.
Set in very good condition.

"Ikebana, one of the traditional arts of Japan, has been practiced for over 600 years. It originates from the first offerings of flowers to the dead in Buddhist rites. Around the middle of the 15th century, with the appearance of the first classical styles, ikebana obtained its status as an art in its own right, independent of its religious origins. It still remains nonetheless loaded with symbolic and philosophical nuances. Masters and their students were recruited from the nobility and the clergy, but gradually many schools emerged, styles evolved, and ikebana was practiced at all levels of Japanese society. The different forms of ikebana share a number of constants, regardless of the period or the schools. Any plant material can be used: branches, leaves, grasses, mosses, fruits… Dead leaves or buds are as valuable as blooming flowers. An ikebana work can be composed of a single material or several, but the selection of each element requires a discerning eye and their arrangement refined know-how. The aim is to create a beauty that does not exist in nature. What distinguishes ikebana from simple decoration is its asymmetrical form and the use of empty space, as an essential element of the composition. Another important factor is the harmony between the plants used, the vase, and the location. All these characteristics are found in other forms of Japanese aesthetics, namely traditional painting, garden art, architecture and design.