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Lot Essay
This bronze eagle of 1845 is an extremely rare example of monumental animalier sculpture made prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Considering its scale and quality it is an important discovery in the world of late Edo-period metalwork.
Little is known about the artist Okano Toryusai, who signed the work. He specialized in bronze casting using the lost-wax method. The eminent metal artist Suzuki Chokichi (1848-1919) learned metalwork technique in Toryusai's studio for five years before he became independent. Chokichi is famous for creating images of birds of prey, most notably for his Twelve Bronze Hawks exhibited to great acclaim at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
Little is known about the artist Okano Toryusai, who signed the work. He specialized in bronze casting using the lost-wax method. The eminent metal artist Suzuki Chokichi (1848-1919) learned metalwork technique in Toryusai's studio for five years before he became independent. Chokichi is famous for creating images of birds of prey, most notably for his Twelve Bronze Hawks exhibited to great acclaim at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.