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A large bronze jar representing the story of Shiba Onko By Honma Takusai III (1868-1945), Meiji Period image 1
A large bronze jar representing the story of Shiba Onko By Honma Takusai III (1868-1945), Meiji Period image 2
Lot 440*

A large bronze jar representing the story of Shiba Onko
By Honma Takusai III (1868-1945), Meiji Period

11 May 2010, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £3,600 inc. premium

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A large bronze jar representing the story of Shiba Onko

By Honma Takusai III (1868-1945), Meiji Period
Cast in the form of a group of karako, among whom one is Shiba Onko, standing and holding a stone, clustered around a broken jar that has water draining from its cracks, the head of one boy is seen protruding through an opening in the jar at the front, the base signed Dai Nippon Takusai zo; with tomobako titled and signed by the artist Takusai zo with seal. 36cm (14 1/16in) high. (2).

Footnotes

司馬温公銅花瓶 三代本間琢齋 明治時代

Shiba Onko (Chian/Sima Qian in Chinese) was a famous statesman and historian of the Han Dynasty. This is an episode linked to his childhood, when it was said that Shiba Onko and his companions were watching fish in a huge jar when one of them fell in but whilst the rest of his playmates ran away shrieking, leaving the child to drown, Shiba Onko used a rock to break the jar to drain out the water and set his companion free. This episode was a popular theme among Edo-period artists as a parable of virtuous behaviour.

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