Page 10 - Bonhams September 12 2018 New York Japanese Works of Art

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THE MIYAO 宮尾 COMPANY OF YOKOHAMA, AFTER Founded by Miyao Eisuke, the Miyao Company of Yokohama
TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI 月岡芳年 (1839–1892) specialized in the manufacture of bronze sculptures, embellished
A Rare Large Bronze Charger Depicting Takashima Ōiko and with gold and silver as well as patinated copper alloys, that represent
Saeki Ujinaga generic samurai warriors as well as more precisely identifiable
月岡芳年「大井子の話」図彫金ブロンズ大皿 characters from Japanese myth and legend. In addition, the
Meiji era (1868–1912), circa 1890–1900 company also made a smaller number of pieces in other formats
Circular with a flat rim, the chocolate-brown patinated bronze body such as incense-burners, vases, and chargers.
cast and inlaid in gold, silver, shakudō, shibuichi, and copper with a
scene featuring Takashima Ōiko clenching the hand of Saeki Ujinaga The present lot stands out from the prolific production of the Miyao
under her upper arm watched by two children, the rim with gilt inlay Company on account of its format, quality and above all its design.
of stylized cloud ornament, signed Miyao tsukuru 宮尾造 (Made by Only a few chargers by the company are known and this one is of
Miyao) with a gold-inlaid seal-style mark Miyao 宮尾 exceptionally large size, with decoration of an unusually high quality
Diameter 26 5/8 in. (67.5 cm) not often seen in standard Miyao figures. Furthermore, it is a rare
example of a piece of later Meiji-era metalwork with a design taken
$50,000 - 60,000 from the work of one of the most celebrated artists of the time, the
painter and print-designer Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (see also lot 9).

Yoshitoshi’s two-sheet woodblock print, published in April 1889,
was likely inspired by an earlier version by Katsushika Hokusai that
appears as a double-page spread in Volume Nine of his series of
Manga (Random Drawings), published in 1819 (p. 14). It depicts
a semi-historical incident involving the wrestler Saeki of Echizen
Province and Ōiko, a young widow noted for her great strength. On
his way to Kyoto to take part in a tournament, Saeki came across
Ōiko at a stone bridge in Ōmi Province and attempted a sexual
assault, but she gripped his hand under her upper arm so hard,
despite the fact that she was also carrying a bucket of water on her
head, that she was able to drag him back to her farmhouse. There
she subjected him to a rigorous training regime, including compulsory
consumption of nutritious but rock-hard rice, that enabled him to
triumph at the tournament.

The designer of the charger took several liberties with Yoshitoshi’s
composition—adding an extra bucket of water and two child
onlookers, omitting the waterwheel, changing the costume design
and making other additions that were a better fit with Miyao house
style—but retained all the unresolved tension and girl-power swagger
of the original print.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Takashima Oiko no hanashi
(The Strong Woman Oiko of Takashima), 1889

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