A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON
A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON
A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON
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A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON
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Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a fil… Read more
A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON

BY MYOCHIN NOBUMASA, EDO PERIOD (18TH-19TH CENTURY)

Details
A JAPANESE IRON ARTICULATED MODEL OF A DRAGON
BY MYOCHIN NOBUMASA, EDO PERIOD (18TH-19TH CENTURY)
The russet-iron dragon finely constructed of numerous hammered plates jointed inside the body; the mouth opens, the tongue, limbs and claws move, the body bends, the head is applied with elaborate horns, spines and whiskers, the details are carved and chiselled and the eyes are of shakudo embellished with gilt, signature on underside of jaw; on a later burr-elm base with later cradle
13 in. (33 cm.) high, on base; 421/2 in. (108 cm.) long, the dragon overall; 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm.) wide, in cradle, excluding base
Provenance
Acquired from a private collector in Boston in the 1990s.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 25 March 2014, lot 534, where acquired by the present owner.
Special notice
Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crozier Park Royal (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot is transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection on the third business day after the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker
Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

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Lot Essay


It is not clear why articulated animals and insects were first made in the workshops of armour makers in the early 18th century. The dragon model in the Tokyo National Museum made by Myochin Muneaki in 1713 is the earliest dated example. Typically, the artists of articulated figures made in this period were members of the Myochin family, prominent armour makers particularly skilled at forging and tempering steel, whose activities are documented to the 16th century but probably extend further back. By the middle of the Edo period, Japan was at peace after centuries of civil war and the demand for arms significantly decreased. This in turn influenced many Myochin-school metalsmiths to turn their skills to the manufacture of ornamental sword guards and arms, tea utensils and decorative objects in iron, such as the present Jizai okimono. Some of the articulated objects produced may have evolved from ornaments originally intended for helmets and other accoutrements.

Another example signed by a Myochin artist can be found in the Tokyo National Museum (Harada Kazutoshi, ed., Jizai okimono Articulated Iron Figures of Animals, vol. 11 of Rokusho, special issue Kyoto: Maria Shobo, Ltd., 2010, pl. 1). There is a further smaller example, also signed by Myochin Nobumasa, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (M.37-1947; ibid, pl. 7).

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