Exquisite Japanese Cloisonné Red Enamel Six-Piece Dressing Table Set, Ando Jubei

Japanese Ando Jubei Cloisonné Enamel Six-Piece Dressing Table Set with Ando Marks and Original Fitted Case

A rare Japanese cloisonné enamel six-piece dressing table set by Ando Jubei (J. Ando), dating to the early twentieth century, complete with its original fitted case and bearing workshop marks on the boxes. The cream silk lining of the case is also stamped in gilt with the firm’s name and locations: “J. Ando, Cloisonne Ware, Tokyo, Nagoya, Japan.”

The set comprises:

a hand mirror

a hairbrush

a clothes brush

a comb with enamel back

and two covered boxes (each with Ando workshop marks)

Each piece is finished in lustrous transparent red enamel, decorated with scrolling green foliate motifs surrounding chrysanthemum blossoms, a flower deeply associated in Japan with longevity, renewal, and the Imperial Household. The decoration is consistent across all six pieces, demonstrating the workshop’s careful design unity and refined execution.

The boxes, stamped with the Ando workshop mark, further confirm the authenticity and provenance of the set. The comb retains its tortoiseshell teeth, while the brushes preserve their original bristles, all in good condition with only light signs of age and use. The fitted presentation case, with its gilt-printed Ando label, enhances its rarity, preserving the ensemble as it would have been presented to its first owner.

Ando Jubei (1876–1953) was the leading cloisonné master of the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His Tokyo and Nagoya workshops were appointed purveyors to the Imperial Household and became internationally renowned for both monumental exhibition pieces and luxury domestic wares. Sets such as this were often produced as elite export goods, intended for affluent Western buyers in the 1910–1930 period, when Japanese cloisonné was considered among the most prestigious of decorative arts.

Complete Ando cloisonné dressing sets are exceedingly rare, especially when preserved in their original fitted cases and with workshop marks on individual pieces. This ensemble exemplifies both the artistry and the prestige of the Ando firm, representing a museum-quality survival from Japan’s golden age of enameling.

Fitted Box: 3" high x 17" wide x 13" deep
Hand Mirror (largest piece): 10" high x 6" diameter

Very good original condition. Some hairlines from the natural firing process of enameling, otherwise an excellent and rare suite.