2nd Dec, 2022 13:00

Fine Japanese Art

 
  Lot 82
 

82

FUKUI KYORI & KIYOTOSHI: A LARGE BRONZE KORO IN THE FORM OF A SHACHIHOKO (DRAGON FISH)

Sold for €2,340

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

By Fukui Kyori and Kiyotoshi, signed Fukuri Kyori zo and Kiyotoshi with kakihan
Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Superbly cast as a gigantic dragon fish, its head resting on the separately cast massive four-legged base with crashing waves both neatly incised to the top and cast in relief on the rim and feet, the sides with craggy rockwork in low relief, the shachihoko with a fierce expression marked by bulging eyes with gilt pupils, spiky brows and mane, and sharp fangs, the mouth agape in a roar, its head surmounted by the pierced cover with a standing Otohime, the daughter of Ryujin, wearing a long flowing robe blowing in the wind and a headdress. The dragon fish’s underbelly with a square aperture for attachment to the base and signed FUKURI KYORI zo, the base signed KIYOTOSHI with a kakihan.

HEIGHT 50.5 cm (incl. base) and 40.5 cm (excl. base)
WEIGHT 8,814 g (the dragon fish) and 5,796 g (the base)

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and casting flaws, few minuscule nicks, occasional light scratches, few minor losses.
Provenance: French trade.

The given names Kiyotoshi (Seiri) and Kyori (Atsutoshi/Takatoshi) suggest that both artists were from the same family or worked at the same studio, as they share the second character ro/toshi. For a smaller bronze okimono of a rakan, signed Fukui Kiyotoshi, see Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 14 May 2015, London, lot 419.

The Chinese character for shachi is composed of two radicals, that for 'fish' and that for 'tiger'. The creature is sometimes referred to as a 'tiger-fish', the face resembling a tiger or the mythical leonine shishi. However, the present example has a long face with the horns and whiskers of a dragon. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with roof ornaments (crafted in the form of a shachihoko), in order to protect them from fire.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related smaller bronze koro in the form of a shachihoko, 31.1 cm high, lacking the base and figural cover, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 11 September 2019, New York, lot 915 (sold for 2,550 USD), and another by Kamejo, dated Meiji or Taisho period, 21 x 23 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 8 November 2018, London, lot 231 (sold for 6,250 GBP).

 

By Fukui Kyori and Kiyotoshi, signed Fukuri Kyori zo and Kiyotoshi with kakihan
Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Superbly cast as a gigantic dragon fish, its head resting on the separately cast massive four-legged base with crashing waves both neatly incised to the top and cast in relief on the rim and feet, the sides with craggy rockwork in low relief, the shachihoko with a fierce expression marked by bulging eyes with gilt pupils, spiky brows and mane, and sharp fangs, the mouth agape in a roar, its head surmounted by the pierced cover with a standing Otohime, the daughter of Ryujin, wearing a long flowing robe blowing in the wind and a headdress. The dragon fish’s underbelly with a square aperture for attachment to the base and signed FUKURI KYORI zo, the base signed KIYOTOSHI with a kakihan.

HEIGHT 50.5 cm (incl. base) and 40.5 cm (excl. base)
WEIGHT 8,814 g (the dragon fish) and 5,796 g (the base)

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and casting flaws, few minuscule nicks, occasional light scratches, few minor losses.
Provenance: French trade.

The given names Kiyotoshi (Seiri) and Kyori (Atsutoshi/Takatoshi) suggest that both artists were from the same family or worked at the same studio, as they share the second character ro/toshi. For a smaller bronze okimono of a rakan, signed Fukui Kiyotoshi, see Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 14 May 2015, London, lot 419.

The Chinese character for shachi is composed of two radicals, that for 'fish' and that for 'tiger'. The creature is sometimes referred to as a 'tiger-fish', the face resembling a tiger or the mythical leonine shishi. However, the present example has a long face with the horns and whiskers of a dragon. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with roof ornaments (crafted in the form of a shachihoko), in order to protect them from fire.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related smaller bronze koro in the form of a shachihoko, 31.1 cm high, lacking the base and figural cover, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 11 September 2019, New York, lot 915 (sold for 2,550 USD), and another by Kamejo, dated Meiji or Taisho period, 21 x 23 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 8 November 2018, London, lot 231 (sold for 6,250 GBP).

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