A bronze vase inlayed with silver waves by Nakagawa Joeki X enclosed in the original signed wooden box annotated by 12th generation Omotesenkei Tea School Master Seisai. The voluminous body, rising to a flaring neck, rests on a base of eight sides. The vase is 13 inches (33 cm) tall, 9-1/2 inches (24 cm) diameter and is in fine condition. It is wrapped in a custom made brocade bag and enclosed in a wooden box covered in writing and inventory inspection notes. It is signed simply with the engraved signature Nakagawa Joeki Zo on the base, the box bearing a brand beneath reading Nakagawa Joeki. The lid is signed Joeki Saku and titled Karado ? Hanaire, Nami Gin Zogan followed by Sa and the ka-o signature of Seisai with the character Ko (Favored by). The box is covered in stamps from collection inventories identified Mizutani Seiseki Ai-zo (In the beloved collection of Mizutani Aiseki).
Nakagawa Joeki X (Junsaburo, 1880-1940) was the 10th generation head of the Nakagawa family of metal workers, one of the Jusoku-Kei families supplying tea ware to the various tea schools, responsible for bronze ware, and is said to have peaked with the 9th and 10th generations. He headed the line from1911-1940, covering the reign of 3 emporers, he was greatly favored by tea masters at the time.
Keio Sosa (Saisai, 1863-1937) became the 12th generation head of the Omotesenke tea school in 1892. He taught tea to the Meiji Emperor from the 28th year of that rule and was one of the strongest proponents for the re-establishment of the way of tea after the waning of popularity experienced during the first half of the Meiji period and rebuilt the Omotesenkei complex after it burned in 1906. With craftsmen like Joeki they brought the way of tea into the 20th century, and broadened its appeal from that of the elite to give access to all. He was known to have modified his signature three times over the dynamic perio d of his life. This ka-o begins to appear in the early Taisho period, around 1915.
