Bronze Ox Herder with Ox, bronze dark brown patinated and chased afterwards, naturalistic depiction of a strong ox on whose back a small boy with a pannier is playing music on his flute, in addition solid hardwood base.
A Superb Bronze Tokyo School Okimono of an Ox herder with Ox
High 25 cm.
Meiji period, Japan
Signed!
*Okimono is a Japanese term meaning “ornament for display; object d’art; decorative object”, typically displayed in a tokonoma alcove or butsudan altar.
An okimono may be a small Japanese carving, like, but larger than netsuke. Unlike netsuke, which have a specific purpose, okimono is purely decorative and are displayed in the tokonoma. An okimono can be made from wood, ivory, ceramic or metal.
One subcategory of okimono is the jizai okimono, an articulated figure often made from bronze or iron.
Okimonos are normally not larger than a few centimeters. They depict all sorts of animals, mythological beasts, humans, gods, fruit, vegetables, and objects, sometimes combined with each other, in all sorts of positions. Sometimes a scene is portrayed as well, either a daily scene or from a story.
Anything that could be carved or made into a small object can be used in an okimono. Some okimonos were inspired by a group of objects and were supposed to be shown together as an ensemble.
Mutsuhito (睦仁, 3 November 1852 – 30 July 1912), posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji[a] (明治天皇, Meiji-tennō), was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan’s transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power.
