Pegasus

Vintage Japanese Ink Paste Box

A stylised portrayal of Pegasus.

Ink paste boxes used to be in common usage in Japan, each person had their personal seal / chop.
Ink Boxes evolved into an art form to meet the demand. They were made from many different kinds of material such as ceramic, lacquer, metals etc.
As the use of ink paste boxes faded into obscurity they became collector's items.

This bronze ink paste box over 50 years old is of the size and quality that it would have graced the desk of a person of some importance.

Made and signed by the famous artist Kitamura Seibo.(Biography below)
A picture of this particular sculpture is recorded in a published book of his works in Japanese page 60 picture T15.

Condition : Mint condition
Refer the large images for details & condition as they also form the description.

Note: depending on your computer monitor / phone / ipad etc. colour may vary to actual.

Dimensions are maximum measurements


Length About: 17.6cm
Width About: 17.0cm
Depth About: 2.4cm
Weight About: 1289 grams

A$SOLD

Kitamura Seibo Biography:
He was born in what was then Minamiarima, Nagasaki, (now Minamishimabara) on 16 December 1884 and entered Kyoto City University of Arts to study sculpture in 1903.
He graduated from there in 1907 and immediately enrolled in the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, from which he received a second sculpture degree in 1912.
He began sculpting full-time after his discharge from military service in 1915 and, by 1921, he was a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
He was inducted into the Japan Art Academy in 1925.

He is known as the sculptor of the 13-meter-tall Peace Statue in Nagasaki Peace Park.
The statue and the park are near the hypocentre where the atomic bomb exploded on 9 August 1945.
The design for the statue was selected in an open contest, and unveiled to the public on 1 April 1955 when the park opened.
The statue points to the sky, warning from where the bomb and death would fall, his left hand is stretched out in a gesture of peace, and his eyes are closed in prayer for the souls of those who died.
One leg is folded in a position of meditation, but his left foot is on the ground, as he is prepared to stand and assist the people.
The statue and park are a memorial to the people of Nagasaki who died in the atomic bomb explosion.
Kitamura received numerous local and national awards for his work throughout his lifetime. He died on 4 March 1987 in Tokyo at the age of 102.