6th Dec, 2024 10:00
Fine Japanese Art
9
TAKAHASHI RYOUN: A LARGE AND SUPERB BRONZE VASE DECORATED WITH CARPS AND DRAGONS GRASPING TWO CRYSTAL SPHERES
Sold for €5,850
including Buyer's Premium
By Takahashi Ryoun, sealed Ryoun
Japan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912)
Finely cast and constructed of three parts, the compressed globular lobed base supported by a coiled dragon, holding in its claws a rock crystal sphere, the ferocious beast with its head raised, looking towards a smaller dragon writhing around the separately cast neck rising to a wide flared foliate rim with openworked manji design, the interior of the trumpet mouth finely worked in low relief with five carps, their eyes inlaid in gold-ringed shakudo. The two sections attached by a separate plate signed RYOUN.
HEIGHT 60.7 cm
WEIGHT 23.4 kg
Condition: Very good condition with usual wear, light surface scratches, small nicks, the small dragon head re-attached with a metal peg, a small loss to the smaller dragon’s tail. Presenting very well.
Takahashi Ryoun lived in Tokyo and was active from the late Meiji period into the early Showa period. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and was famed for his skill in bronze casting. The Tokyo Casting Association lists him as a designated special member, a ranking reserved only for the best artists. He exhibited his works at the Paris Great Exposition in 1900: three pieces were entered in the Exhibition Catalogue Two (Q 107, 161, 175), and one piece was exhibited in the Award Winning Catalogue. His work can be found in the Museum of the Japanese Imperial Collections (Sannomaru Shozo-kan) in Tokyo.
According to traditional Chinese belief, carps swimming upstream in the Yellow River must leap the rapids of the Dragon's Gate. The first to succeed in doing this is transformed into a dragon. This legend is frequently used and regarded as a metaphor for a scholar who passes the civil service examinations and succeeds in high office. The dragon-carp motif is thus a wish for success in achieving this.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related large bronze figure of Daruma by the same artist, sealed Takahashi Ryoun, dated to the Meiji period, 50 cm tall, at Galerie Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 28 October 2020, Vienna, lot 27 (sold for EUR 17,696).
By Takahashi Ryoun, sealed Ryoun
Japan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912)
Finely cast and constructed of three parts, the compressed globular lobed base supported by a coiled dragon, holding in its claws a rock crystal sphere, the ferocious beast with its head raised, looking towards a smaller dragon writhing around the separately cast neck rising to a wide flared foliate rim with openworked manji design, the interior of the trumpet mouth finely worked in low relief with five carps, their eyes inlaid in gold-ringed shakudo. The two sections attached by a separate plate signed RYOUN.
HEIGHT 60.7 cm
WEIGHT 23.4 kg
Condition: Very good condition with usual wear, light surface scratches, small nicks, the small dragon head re-attached with a metal peg, a small loss to the smaller dragon’s tail. Presenting very well.
Takahashi Ryoun lived in Tokyo and was active from the late Meiji period into the early Showa period. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and was famed for his skill in bronze casting. The Tokyo Casting Association lists him as a designated special member, a ranking reserved only for the best artists. He exhibited his works at the Paris Great Exposition in 1900: three pieces were entered in the Exhibition Catalogue Two (Q 107, 161, 175), and one piece was exhibited in the Award Winning Catalogue. His work can be found in the Museum of the Japanese Imperial Collections (Sannomaru Shozo-kan) in Tokyo.
According to traditional Chinese belief, carps swimming upstream in the Yellow River must leap the rapids of the Dragon's Gate. The first to succeed in doing this is transformed into a dragon. This legend is frequently used and regarded as a metaphor for a scholar who passes the civil service examinations and succeeds in high office. The dragon-carp motif is thus a wish for success in achieving this.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related large bronze figure of Daruma by the same artist, sealed Takahashi Ryoun, dated to the Meiji period, 50 cm tall, at Galerie Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 28 October 2020, Vienna, lot 27 (sold for EUR 17,696).
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