UMEHARA (Sueji). - Lot 103

UMEHARA (Sueji). Shina-Kodo Seikwa or selected relics of ancient chinese bronzes from collections in Europe and America. Osaka: Yamanaka & co, 1933. - 3 parts in 7 folio volumes, 387 x 304. Japanese-style binding in printed green cloth, printed silk in Japanese on first board, gilt edges, green cloth flap folder. First edition of this monumental bilingual work, in Japanese and English, featuring a selection of Chinese bronzes from collections in Europe and America. Written by Japanese archaeologist Umehara Sueji (1893-1983), it is divided into 3 parts, dealing respectively with bronze vases (vols. I to III), antique mirrors (vols. 4 and 5), and miscellaneous objects (vols. 6 and 7). It contains descriptions and reproductions of several hundred bronzes spread over 547 plates (250 in the first part, 160 in the second and 137 in the third), each accompanied by a captioned serpente in Japanese and English, sometimes also including rubbings of decorative elements of the reproduced object. Sueji undertook this work during a 3-year stay in Europe and the United States from 1926 to 1929. A very well preserved copy, numbered in the first volume (no. 229). The same volume contains a card glued to the lining, bearing the printed inscription "With Best Compliments from", followed by the autograph signature of the publisher, Sadajiro Yamanaka (1866-1936). At the top of the card is the typed inscription "Musée Guimet, Paris". It seems that this copy, obviously intended for this museum, was never delivered to its addressee. There are no collection or library markings on the volumes. Spines of folders faded. The works are in a very good state of preservation, a rare condition for this book, which is often found incomplete and in poor condition.