Hexagonal Wall Lantern Japan Copper, reinforced washi paper 24” high x 13 ½” wide x 11 ½” deep Meiji 26 or 1893 Andon or lamp in a hexagonal tall form, made for hanging on a wall or pillar; with a piercework band or scrolling cloud karakusa at the top and another enclosing the center of the window panels with repeating paulownia crests. Assembled of hammered and piercework copper; repapered with durable Warlon or washi-fiberglass paper suitable for sheltered, exterior use. The interior with a circular support for an oil lamp dish. With a chiseled inscription on the access door’s central vertical section: Meiji Ni-jū-roku-nen, Meirinji Shitsu Jū-yon Dai or Meiji (era) 26th Year (1893), Meirin Temple’s 14th Room. This andon likely illuminated the exterior entrance to an important room at Meirinji. Perhaps for the abbot’s quarters or for an elegant guest suite. Expensive to make at the time, it proudly displays the temple’s paulownia crest. The pale-green patination of the copper lends this andon’s tall geometry the soft surface of time. Price on request
