Japanese Carved Chicken and Rooster Okimono

£1,800.00

Japanese pair of hand carved boxwood Chicken and Rooster okimono figures Meiji period (1868-1912) 

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    Description

    Meiji period (1868-1912) 


    From our Japanese collection we are delighted to offer this pair of Japanese Carved Chicken and Rooster Okimono. The Okimono’s intricately modelled as a single hand carved Rooster and Chicken carved in solid boxwood with naturalistic details across the feathers, comb and claws. The Rooster stands proud with its tail feathers held aloft and one foot hovering, the Chicken is carved in squat form feeding from the ground with its front claws showing. The Japanese Carved Chicken and Rooster Okimono date to the late Meiji period (1868-1912) and the early 20th century circa 1910.


    Okimono (置物)

    is a Japanese term meaning an ornament for display (objet d’art/decorative object).

    Meiji Period

    was an era of Japanese history that spanned from 1868 to 1912. It was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people began to build a paradigm of a modern, industrialised nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western countries and aesthetics. As a result of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound and it affected the social structure, politics, economy, military, and foreign relations across the board. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was preceded by the Keio era and was succeeded by the Taisho era.

    Cultural Art during the Meiji Period was of particular interest to the government and they overhauled the art export market which in turn promoted Japanese arts via various world’s fairs, beginning in Vienna at the world fair in 1873. The government heavily funded the fairs and took an active role organising how Japan’s culture was presented to the world including creating a semi-public company named Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha (First Industrial Manufacturing Company). The Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha was used to promote and commercialise exports of Japanese art and established the Hakurankai Jimukyoku (Exhibition Bureau) to maintain quality standards. For the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, the Japanese government created a Centennial Office and sent a special envoy to secure space for the 30,000 items that would be displayed. The Imperial Household also took an active interest in arts and crafts, commissioning works by select artists to be given as gifts for foreign dignitaries further emphasising the high quality and importance of Japanese art. Just before the end of the 19th century in 1890, the Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist to the Imperial Household) system was created to recognise distinguished artists. These artists were selected for their exceptionally high quality wares and talent in their own industry. Over a period of 54 years Seventy artists were appointed, amongst these were ceramicist Makuzu Kozan and cloisonné enamel artist Namikawa Yasuyuki.


    Measurements 

    Rooster 11cm High x 7cm Long x 5cm Wide Chicken 7.5cm High x 4.5cm Wide x 8cm Long

    Rooster 4.33 x 2.76 x 1.97 Chicken 2.95 x 1.77 x 3.15 (inches)

    Condition

    Excellent


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