ANTIQUE 20thC JAPANESE SOLID SILVER COCKTAIL SHAKER & BEAKERS, YOKOHAMA c.1900

DESCRIPTION

Antique early 20th Century Japanese solid silver cocktail shaker and six beakers. All pieces are decorated with water irises on a spot hammered body. Hallmarked Japanese sterling silver (925 standard), Yokohama, year not stated however from around c.1900. Maker Samurai Shokai. This cocktail set is in fabulous condition and is a must for any collector or just as a stand alone item, as useful today as it was the day it was made.

Founded by Japanese businessman Yozo Nomura (1870 - 1965), Samurai Shokai was one of the most famous luxury shops in Japan during the early 20th century.

After abandoning his university studies and traveling to America and Europe, Yozo Namura moved back to Yokohama, near Tokyo where he opened a small luxury shop selling not only silver but also jades, lacquerware, silks and porcelain.

The company quickly grew and, to satisfy his international clientele, Nomura became a pioneer in offering a mail order service.

Sources of the time reported: “English is spoken in all the departments. Prices are marked in plain figures, and there are no misrepresentations. Purveyors to the Imperial Japanese Household, and to the chief Museums of the world. Wholesale and retail. Manufacturers and exporters. Mail orders a specialty. Recommended.” (T. Phillip Terry, Terry’s Japanese Empire, 1914)

Samurai Shokai exhibited in London at the Anglo-Japanese fair in 1910 gaining further popularity in Europe.

Due to the great Kanto earthquake in 1923, Nomura and his family had to flee Yokohama and were forced to close the business. Nevertheless he managed to quickly rebuild his business and also became the owner of the new Grand Hotel in Yokohama. Yozo Nomura died in 1965.

CONDITION

In Good Condition - Please refer to photographs. 

SIZE

SHAKER
Height: 22cm

BEAKER
Height: 6.5cm

Combined Weight: 595g