Page 18 - September 21 2021 Important Japanese Art Christie's NYC

PROPERTY FROM A PRINCELY COLLECTION
9 AN IRON ARTICULATED SCULPTURE OF A SNAKE

MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY), SIGNED MUNEKAZU (TOMIKI ISUKE I; 1835-
1894)
The iron snake constructed of numerous
hammered plates jointed inside the body, the
head finely incised with hinged jaw opening to
reveal a movable tongue, gilt eyes, signature on
underside of jaw
65¡ in. (166.1 cm.)

$40,000-60,000

PROVENANCE:
Robert Winter Japanese Art, Kyoto

The snake is one of the most suitable subjects for jizai sculpture Munekazu is the art name of Tomiki Isuke I (1835-1894) who
given the naturalistic flexibility and undulating qualities of its was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. Unlike other jizai
overlapping, jointed plates. In Japanese culture, the snake is artists from Edo period, Munekazu did not apprentice with
auspicious, symbolizing successful harvests and fertility. In the the Myochin school and it is unclear how he started to create
field, the snake eats mice and other pests. The molting nature of sculptures. At his studio in Kyoto he tutored Takase Kozan
the reptile suggests regeneration and immortality. (1869-1934) and Muneyoshi (Tanaka Tadayoshi;?-1958).

Kitagawa Utamaro (ca. 1754–1806). Rat Snake (Hebi); Lizard or Skink (Tokage),
from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami). Japan. Edo
period, 1788. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1918,
JP1052