MEIJI-TAISHO PERIOD (EARLY 20TH CENTURY), ONE SIGNED KAGAWA KATSUHIRO SAKU AND SEALED HIRO, THE OTHER SIGNED TODAI NIDE KAGAWA KATSUHIRO KOKU AND SEALED KATSUHIRO (KAGAWA KATSUHIRO; 1853-1917)

An Edo (later Tokyo) native, Katsuhiro apprenticed as a boy to a carver of Noh masks before studying drawing under Shibata Zeshin and metalworking under Nomura Katsumori and the eminent Kano Natsuo. A frequent participant in national and international exhibitions, he was appointed a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1903. Like his mentor Natsuo, Katsuhiro joined the elite membership of Teishitsu Gigein (Artists to the Imperial Household) in 1906, insuring him important commissions, exposure and recognition.
Katsuhiro is known as a master of katakiri-bori technique (sculpting with oblique cuts of the chisel in simulation of brush strokes) showing extremely delicate lines and graceful figures on this work.