EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Jizai sculpture of birds represents the eagle, raven, rooster, pheasant, pigeon, quail and cormorant. Among these, the cormorant is the rarest. To date, the present lot is only one articulated sculpture of cormorant and the smallest articulated sculpture of bird known. Like the great range of motion of the living cormorant, this sculpture rotates at the head and extends the wings and tail feathers. It also has a movable beak and neck. All these movements are remarkably smooth. The mechanism that allows the parts to move is fascinating. The elaborateness of the mechanism that gives the present cormorant its marvelous naturalistic qualities demonstrates the advancements in articulated sculpture achieved by metalsmiths in the nineteenth century.
Cormorant is a bird used for a traditional night fishing called Ukai (cormorant fishing) to catch river fish, a familiar sight on the waterways of Japan.