TAISHO PERIOD (EARLY 20TH CENTURY), SIGNED YAMAKAWA KOJI SAKU ON AN INLAID SILVER RESERVE ON THE WOOD STAND (YAMAKAWA KOJI II; 1860-1930)

A preparatory drawing for a bronze okimono of cockerels and drum by Yamakawa Koji II has the same seal as the one on the box of this sculpture (see Kaga zogan Yamakawa Koji sandaiten sakuhinshu [Kaga zogan inlay: Masterworks of Yamakawa Koji I, II and III], Tokyo: Soukeikai Foundation, 1995, p. 30). There is also a preparatory drawing for the okimono of two carps (p. 25): see the illustration to the right. The celebrated Yamakawa family of metal artists began with Koji I (1828-1882), who worked in a metal worshop in Kanazawa and on commissions for the imperial house. The Yamakawa line ended with the death of Koji III, also an accomplished master of inlay work, in 1938.