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Lot 28 Property of a Private Swiss Collector
An Iron Articulated Model of a Butterfly
Signed Muneyoshi (Tomiki Muneyoshi) (under the left smaller wing), Taisho - early Showa period (early 20th century)
Closed8 December 2016
Price Realised
GBP 6,000
More Information
Specialist note
Tomiki Muneyoshi was adopted at the age of three by the master Kyoto artist Takase Kozan.
The basic principle of Japanese armour is its flexibility, being composed of a great number of small lacquered metal plates laced together in rows allowing freedom of movement. It is this freedom which gave rise to the word jizai to describe jizai okimono, or articulated ornaments. The subjects of the jizai okimono makers are chiefly dragons, snakes, crustaceans, birds, insects - any such creatures whose articulating feathers and scales protect them from harm, as do indeed the articulating components of a Japanese armour.
The basic principle of Japanese armour is its flexibility, being composed of a great number of small lacquered metal plates laced together in rows allowing freedom of movement. It is this freedom which gave rise to the word jizai to describe jizai okimono, or articulated ornaments. The subjects of the jizai okimono makers are chiefly dragons, snakes, crustaceans, birds, insects - any such creatures whose articulating feathers and scales protect them from harm, as do indeed the articulating components of a Japanese armour.