Live Auction 11930AN INQUIRING MIND: AMERICAN COLLECTING OF JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART
A set of ten articulated soft-metal insects
Lot 71 Various properties

A set of ten articulated soft-metal insects

Early 20th century, each signed Muneyoshi (Tanaka Tadayoshi; ?-1958)

Closed15 April 2016

Price Realised

USD 161,000

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A set of ten articulated soft-metal insects
Early 20th century, each signed Muneyoshi (Tanaka Tadayoshi; ?-1958)
Each insect constructed of numerous hammered parts jointed together with movable wings, limbs or antennae, each finely detailed and patinated in silver, gold, shibuichi, shakudo and/or copper; signature on body
The largest (Asian swallowtail butterfly): 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) wide, the smallest (rhinoceroses beetle): 2 in. (5 cm.) long

Private collection, Japan

Specialist note

This is the work of a modern metal artist, Tanaka Tadayoshi, known for his articulated iron figures of the Taisho and early Showa periods. Tadayoshi apprenticed in the Kyoto workshop of Takase Kozan (1869-1934), who directed the mass-production of ornamental iron pieces for both domestic and international markets.