Lot 3806
3806
An iron articulated sculpture of a spider
An iron articulated sculpture of a spider

Edo period (19th century)

Details
An iron articulated sculpture of a spider
Edo period (19th century)
The iron spider finely constructed of numerous hammered parts jointed together with movable limbs, claws, body and mouth, eyes embellished with gilt
4 ¾ in. (12.1 cm.) long
Literature
Kuo Hong-Sheng and Chang Yuan-Feng, chief eds. et al., Meiji no bi / Splendid Beauty: Illustrious Crafts of the Meiji Period (Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics, 2013), p. 353.
Exhibited
Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts, “Japan Arts of Meiji Period; Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival Special Exhibition.” 2011.7.8-2012.1.8. cat. p. 112.
“Meiji Kogei: Amazing Japanese Art,” shown at the following venues: Tokyo University of the Arts Museum, 2016.9.7-10.30. Hosomi Museum, Kyoto, 2016.11.12-12.25. Kawagoe City Art Museum, 2017.4.22-6.11. cat. no. 18.

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Lot Essay

This articulated sculpture of a spider appears to be unique.
In Chinese characters, “spider” is usually written 蜘蛛 , but there is one type of red spider that is written 喜子, which literally means “little joy,” hence the spider has joyful connotations. Because the first character of “spider” is a homophone in Chinese of zhi and in Japanese “chi,” “to know” 知, when a spider appears it is interpreted as a harbinger of fortuitous events.

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