An amazing historical find in Florida from the beautiful Temple of Hongan-ji, Kyoto, Japan. It seems that this tobacco smoking set was sold by the temple to raise funds for restorations, according to the letter found in one of the two drawers. The 'tobako-bon' set is made from rosewood, the top and corners all have delicately engraved solid silver gilt embellishments - the pipe holders are also silver gilt as is the handle. The two cast bronze vessels are decorated with flowers, birds and fish for charcoal and water. A letter was found in one of the two drawers from Harishin - Collector of Fine Art Curios in Kobe for around 140 years -an antique dealer who we contacted last year who is aware of the set - the reply is below in Japanese. Great provenance.
Details: The family crest (Ka mon) is in gold lacquer (Maki e) and the family crest is of the "Higashi Honganji Temple, Otani family, "Higashirokujo Yatsufuji-mon". Therefore it seems to be a tobacco tray which was introduced to "Higashi (East) Honganji". The bigger one of cast bronze pots is “Hi ire” (for the charcoal and ash) The smaller one is “Hai fuki” (for a little water and the ashes of smoked cigarette) The letter is prior to 1955 according to Mr Ota, current President of Harashin.
Condition: Significant loss of silk paneling, however the wood structure is in place that supports the remaining fabric. A superb piece for collectors of Tobacciana - listed by East2West Furniture.
Further information: Nishi Hongan-ji was established in 1602 by the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu split the main Hongan-ji in Kyoto into two temples, Nishi Hongan-ji and Higashi Hongan-ji, to diminish the power of the Jōdo Shinshu sect. Nishi Hongan-ji is listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Below is an email sent from Mr Ota, President of Harishin - Collector of Fine Art Curious in Kobe who we got in touch with - these were his comments in Japanese. We have incorporated the relevant information into the description above.
