Katsu Hamanaka - Important Design London Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Alain Lesieutre, Paris
    Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, 'Collection Alain Lesieutre', 13 December 1989, lot 327
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Catalogue Essay

    In 1924, following in the footsteps of the master lacquerer Seizo Sugawara, Japanese-born Katsu Hamanaka had established himself in Paris. Under the encouragement of Sugawara, Hamanaka mastered the art of lacquering and began working with important designers and architects including Maurice Dufrêne, Jacques Adnet, and Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. In demonstrating virtuosity, brilliance, and his almost transmutative abilities, Hamanaka would often apply gold leaf or eggshell decorative elements into his resplendent lacquered surfaces. Examples of his work were presented at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs.

50

Important and rare six-panelled screen with mythological scene

1939
Lacquered wood with applied gold leaf, brass.
Each individual panel: 199.6 x 50 x 2.9 cm (78 5/8 x 19 5/8 x 1 1/8 in.)
One panel signed Hama/naka and dated in Kanji 1939.

Estimate
£80,000 - 150,000 

Sold for £100,000

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Important Design

London Auction 26 April 2018