Antique Japanese Cabinet

[hddennis]

Just added this great Japanese Cabinet to our collection. It is almost 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. As with almost all shibayama items found  it is missing some inlay. Does anyone know if anyone sells carved inlay items that maybe used to restore this? It is missing flowers, birds and a childs head.

 

Howard Dennis

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Colin (Matsunoki) is an expert in this field.

[ROKUJURO]

Looks very Chinese from a distance.

[Matsunoki]

Hi Howard, your cabinet is, as you say, Japanese and dating from the mid Meiji period when such things gained enormous popularity with both the gaijin in Japan and worldwide via a buoyant export market. Some can be mind boggling quality. 

Yes I have (now retired) spent years restoring such things (as a hobby, not a business) for some of the UK dealers. Missing inlay is obligatory on these! I used to actually carve whatever was necessary….be it shell or coral or ivory etc but it is very time consuming and therefore rather expensive. You need a specialist workshop set-up. I doubt you will find anyone to actually carve replacements nowadays but another trick is to search for simpler panels (made in their 1000s) and very often heavily damaged and thus very cheap. It is sometimes possible to “harvest” elements of inlay that can be adapted far more easily to either fit in or even stuck straight over the top of missing areas. Flowers, leaves etc are common and thus quite straightforward. Faces are a real pain, they hardly ever fit, usually looking the wrong way or the wrong size which usually means a lot of hard work or a vaguely acceptable compromise.

The best advice I can offer is to look for panels (auctions etc) in the hope of “do it yourself” repairs. 

[hddennis]

Thanks for your response and suggestions. Since you have a lot more experience could I ask your opinion on the flowers on the carved wooden sukashi like panels? In going over all the carved wooden panels it appears I'm missing close to 60 flowers. When new would it seem likely that the tradesman who carved the panel would have glued these flowers on? I ask only because the 3 remaining flowers are of such a simple and poor quality than the ones on the Shibayama panels and that makes me wonder which statement is true? Either the remaining low quality flowers are a later replacement OR the flowers don't match because they were made by 2 different carvers at different times during the cabinet's production.

 

 

[Matsunoki]

@hddennis

Hi Howard

without doubt these cabinets were made in workshops by teams of specialists. There would be cabinet makers, lacquerers, carvers etc…..all specialist in their own fields.

However one constant was the quality overall. You would not find poor quality flowers (no matter how many of them were needed) on a good quality cabinet. They might not be the same species of flower or the same material but they would all be constant quality. The Japanese would not usually spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar.Having said that quality did drop and corners were cut in later Meiji all in the pursuit of $$

So imo the remaining flower that you show next to the bird is later. 
Your cabinet is a large one of complex construction with many quite good inlaid lacquer panels. When new it would have been quite a sight and very expensive.

Another option you might want to explore is whether you could find a plastic moulder who could run you off a batch of these possibly even with a mother of pearl effect (as seen in many buttons) He could use the remaining good ones to create a mould. Or maybe even have a go yourself using some of the resin moulding stuff that is available nowadays….but that is way outside of my knowledge!

Good luck!

[Matsunoki]

@hddennis

Howard put this into Google search……..

“mother of pearl effect resin moulding”

 

it seems to be possible.

[Brian]

If the missing pieces are inlayey, although it would take ages, I don't see why someone wouldn't be able to take impressions using one of the moldeable plastics that get soft when you put them in hot water, then harden. This will give you the shape. The transfer to thin sheets of MOP...freely available at places like https://lumea.co/products/inlay-surfaces/veneers

Then cut them out or grind slightly with a Dremel, and replace the main ones.

[Matsunoki]

21 minutes ago, Brian said:

Then cut them out or grind slightly with a Dremel, and replace the main ones.

This veneer is about 0.3mm thick and very difficult to work on without shattering or cracking. Also it would give you just a flat surface whereas the missing flowers will be several mm thick with quite deep carving.

Moulding from an existing good flower will give that depth and detail and probably give a better impression than just a flat  surface. 
Also beware inhaling the dust when grinding….

[Davis]

Hi Howard, a nice cabinet.  I agree with almost everything that's been said.  The flower on this cabinet door was damaged last week exposing the original pitch like substance used to fix it in place.  You can usually tell if a damaged piece has been replaced by a variation in quality and the type of adhesive used.  This second picture shows a plaque whose losses have been replaced using shell, completely different from the original material but I think it works well.  With regards your "flower", it's difficult to make a call without actually seeing in person but In my opinion it's original to the cabinet.

[Matsunoki]

@Davis

Mick, did you replace some of those leaves in the first image?

which pieces have been replaced in the second image?

[hddennis]

14 hours ago, Brian said:

If the missing pieces are inlayey, although it would take ages, I don't see why someone wouldn't be able to take impressions using one of the moldeable plastics that get soft when you put them in hot water, then harden. This will give you the shape. The transfer to thin sheets of MOP...freely available at places like https://lumea.co/products/inlay-surfaces/veneers

Then cut them out or grind slightly with a Dremel, and replace the main ones.

 

Brian, do you have a link or a name of the moldable plastic you mentioned?

Thanks,

Howard Dennis

[Brian]

Howard, Google polymorph plastics.
There are a ton of varieties. Usually warm water softens them, and as they cool, they get hard. Great for working out shapes such as missing brass sheet inlays on tanegashima etc.

[Davis]

My apologies for poor quality images as I can't use my camera at the moment. Colin, the first image. Apart from the recent damage, it's how it was acquired. Yes, I think three leaves have been replaced and and another has been badly repaired using a filler and then shaped. Sharp eyes. Second image. When I bought this plaque the seller told me that he had paid to have it professionally restored. The losses to the standing warrior's leg's, the blades of the sword and spear were substituted with mother of pearl..  Howard, my opinion is that any adornments on the woodwork, if too elaborate would detract your eyes from the main focus of the cabinet, the panels. 

[Matsunoki]

6 minutes ago, Davis said:

The losses to the standing warrior's leg's,

Mick, whoever did those legs was seriously good. That is excellent restoration work of the highest quality (imo). They look original to me. 

[hddennis]

9 hours ago, Brian said:

Howard, Google polymorph plastics.
There are a ton of varieties. Usually warm water softens them, and as they cool, they get hard. Great for working out shapes such as missing brass sheet inlays on tanegashima etc.

Thanks Brian,

Since it sounds like you have used it is there any danger of it sticking to the lacquer or staining it?

[Brian]

No, it dries like hard plastic. Not sticky or anything. The only risk would be getting some under a loose piece

[Matsunoki]

One thing to bear in mind…..

usually it is better to leave something unrestored than to restore it badly (that applies both aesthetically and financially)

Bad restoration can leap at your eyes far more harshly than the consequences of the  passing of time.

Also be careful when using modern materials especially glues that do not allow a second chance.