JAPANESE BRONZE OKIMONO OF A SAMURAI
BY AKASOFU GYOKO, MEIJI PERIOD
Estimate: £1,000 - £1,500
Auction: 16 May 2025 from 09:00 BST
Description
明治 赤祖父暁光 銅鑄武士置物
cast standing in a belligerent pose with feet apart, robe and hat animated with both hands holding a sword above his head ready to strike, another tucked into his waist, signed in a rectangular reserve Gyoko on trousers, fixed to a wooden stand
Dimensions
28.4cm high, 30.7cm high on stand
Provenance
Private Scottish collection of an avid collector of Asian art over six decades, Edinburgh; Inherited from the current owner’s father, acquired in the 1960s (by repute)
Footnote
Akasofu Gyoko (active in the late 19th century) lived in Tokyo, his factory producing cast metalwork for export. His given name was Sotojiro and he is recorded as a member of the Tokyo Chukinkai (Tokyo Cast Metalworkers' Association) in the second half of the Meiji period.
A highly comparable bronze figure of a samurai, also by Akasofu Gyoko, Meiji Period, further with gilding decorations, was sold at Bonhams London, 12 November 2008, lot 537.