Estimated at $300-500 in Seaford, New York, it hammered for $9000 (£7100).
Namikawa began his career as a cloisonné artist c.1868 and worked with the Kyoto Shippo Kaisha between 1871-74, before opening his own studio.
He exhibited his work, to great acclaim, at national and international expositions and in w1896 he was appointed an imperial craftsman to the Meiji emperor.
Working across half a century, his work assumes a number of different styles. The 4½in (11cm) teapot offered here was finely worked with a design of scattered polychrome flowers and butterflies probably dated to c.1890. It is signed on a silver plaque to the base Kyoto Namikawa. With only a tiny speck of enamel loss to count against it, it was in the perfect condition cloisonné buyers desire.
Another example of this model with a yellow-brown ground sold for £7500 in November 2023 at Bonhams in London.
