Page 201 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

77 This is the work of Tanaka Tadayoshi, a modern metal artist active
AN IRON ARTICULATED SCULPTURE OF A SNAKE in the Taisho and Showa periods. He apprenticed in the Kyoto
EARLY 20TH CENTURY, SIGNED MUNEYOSHI (TANAKA TADAYOSHI; workshop of Takase Kozan (1869-1934), who directed the studio
?-1958) creating articulated sculptures for both domestic and international
The iron snake constructed of numerous hammered plates jointed markets. Tadayoshi was known as a master of articulated sculptures
inside the body, the head finely incised with hinged jaw opening to especially of large scale, such as the present lot. For a similar work
reveal a movable tongue, gilt eyes, signature on underside of jaw signed by Muneyoshi in the British Museum, see Harada Kazutoshi,
51º in. (130.2 cm.) ed., Jizai okimono / Articulated Iron Figures of Animals, Rokusho 11,
special edition (2010), pl. 12.
$30,000-40,000
In Japanese culture, the snake symbolizes successful harvests and
fertility. In the field, the snake eats mice and other pests. The
molting nature of the reptile suggests regeneration and immortality.
Often seen at shrines and the front doors of houses at the New
Year, sacred ropes (shimenawa 注連縄) symbolize sanctity and
purity. The entwined and twisted form of the ropes derives from
mating snakes. Ugajin 宇賀神, the serpent guardian and fertility
deity in Japanese mythology, is often depicted with a snake body
and a human head, and is also worshipped for good fortune.