Okimono or
sculpture in the form of a leaping deer. Of cast bronze, inlaid
extensively in silver. Signed on the reverse with an inlaid silver and
red bronze seal-form signature by the artist: Kaishū (Takahashi Kaishū,
born 1905). Shōwa era, circa 1960 – 1970.
With the tomobako or original box, inscribed on the exterior of the
lid: Kaga Zōgan Sōshu or Kaga Inlaid (Sculpture Titled): Fresh Autumn;
and on the reverse of the lid signed: Kaga Kaishū Tsukuru or Made by
Kaishū of Kaga, and sealed.
Takahashi Kaishū was born in Kanazawa, and graduated from the Tokyo
School of Fine Art in 1929. In the same year he was accepted into the
Teiten. In 1930 Kaishū exhibited in Belgium at the World Exposition and
received an award, also winning a gold medal in 1933 at the Chicago
International Exposition. After the War, Takahashi Kaishū continued to
exhibit widely. In 1982 he was designated Jūyō Mukei Bunkazai or
Important Intangible Cultural Asset (commonly referred to as Ningen
Kokuhō or Living National Treasure).
One of the most prominent artists to continue working in the Kaga
metalworking tradition, Takahashi Kaishū specialized in bronze casting
and soft metal inlay. His modernist adaptations of traditional
techniques are widely collected.
This doe leaps into the wind, elegantly stylized and playfully
imagined. Kaishü abstracts the deer to the simplest of forms. Over
her elongated and curving surface he inlays rippling cloud motifs, each
formed from varying cascades of silver dots. The freedom and generosity
of the design imbues the sculpture with a brilliant spontaneity.
12” high x 24” long x 4” deep.
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