A large bronze group of a farmer's wife carrying a basket

Description:

Japan, signed Atsuyoshi, marked Maruki shachû sei, Meiji period
H. 65 cm
Miyabe Atsuyoshi, artist's name Ikkodo, is described in Wakayama Takeshi, Kinko Jiten (Dictionary of Metalworkers), Tokyo, Token Shunju Shinbunsha, 1999, p. 1141, describes Atsuyoshi as a maker of sword fittings and the apprentice of Shinoyama Tokuoki (1813-1891), who was active in Kyoto during the late Edo period and the early Meiji period. Atsuyoshi is known for a series of finely modelled bronze studies of people and animals, almost all of which were produced for the Maruki Company.
Old North German private collection
The Maruki Company was active in Japan during the Meiji period (1868-1912). It is characterised by the quality and weight of its okimono and is known for producing fine figural and animal bronzes - Minim. traces of age