Meiji period (late 19th century), signed Minjo to (Carved by Unno Minjo; 1873-1910) and inscribed ka Shomin

Minjo was the first son of Unno Shomin (1844-1915) of the Mito school of metalwork who became a lecturer in the Metal Sculpture Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Art, and was later honored as an Imperial Household Artist (Teishitsu Gigei-In). Minjo entered Tokyo School of Fine Arts and became skilled in the traditional metalwork techniques, studying under both his father and another metal master, Kano Natsuo (1828-1898). After graduation in 1897, Minjo participated in many exhibitions, including the 1900 International Exposition held in Paris. He was called ko shomin (little Shomin) and was expected to be the successor to the family metalworking tradition, however he died prematurely in 1910. On this kettle, Unno Minjo inscribed ka Shomin 伽 勝珉, which may be interpreted as an homage to his father as the character can mean “attending” or “attendant”.
The style of puppies depicted on the present lot shows close relationship to the paintings by Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799), one of the Maruyama Shijo school artists. Minjo may be inspired from the cheerful puppies painted by Rosetsu.