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Lot 208A
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19th C. Japanese Meiji Brass Okimono of an Elephant
19th C. Japanese Meiji Brass Okimono of an Elephant
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East Asia, Japan, Meiji period, ca. 1868–1912 CE. A brass elephant ambles forward on sturdy columnar legs, head lowered and trunk curling inward toward a pair of copper-toned tusks. The modeling rewards close looking: wrinkled folds gather at the cheeks and shoulders, the great ears lie flat against the skull, and the eyes are rendered with quiet attentiveness. The warm golden surface, burnished high on the back and dusky in the recesses, gives the small bronze a sense of weight far exceeding its scale. Cast as an okimono, a decorative ornament made for display in the alcove (tokonoma) of a refined Meiji interior, the piece answers the period taste for naturalistic animal subjects executed with virtuoso metalwork. The elephant, exotic to Japan, carried auspicious associations of strength, wisdom, and Buddhist virtue. Size: 5.3" W x 3.2" H x 2.4" D (13.5 cm W x 8.1 cm H x 6.1 cm D).

Okimono ("placed thing") flourished during the Meiji era (1868-1912), when the abolition of the samurai class redirected the skills of armor and sword-fitting metalworkers toward decorative objects for both domestic display and a booming export market. Animal subjects, rendered with anatomical fidelity and tactile surface detail, were especially prized. The elephant (zo) entered Japanese art largely through Buddhist iconography, where it appears as the mount of the bodhisattva Fugen (Samantabhadra) and as a symbol of patient strength, making it a fitting and quietly auspicious choice for a scholar's desk or alcove.

Provenance: private Denver, Colorado, USA collection, acquired in the 1960's

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Item # 203303

  • Condition: Excellent. Light age wear, but, otherwise, intact and excellent.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000