Japanese brass finish iron Onagadori okimono by Sotaro Saegusa | ||
| Japanese Metalwork68 of 149 |  |  |
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Posted 3 years ago
kwqd
(1185 items)
This brass toned cast iron Onagadori okimono is about 9" high x 3" long x 3"wide. It is signed (image 3), with the mark, "Sou", of Sotaro Saegusa. Similarly marked sculptures by Saegusa date to the 1950s. Inset into image 3 is a clear example of this mark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onagadori
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I thought it was a bird I was thinking about of late, but mistaken. Love the beauty of it !~
Thanks PhilDMorris, fortapache, blunderbuss2, Kevin and SEAN68!
I think it’s a cockerel. I love the shape of this and as you say may well be Saegusa.
It’s great Kevin!
Super iron bird figure, what a cool round head topper
I love him! He's so sleek and elegant and I wonder is he a cockerel because of his head comb? Or maybe some kind of fancy Asian pheasant? I'm gonna say cockerel though...
Usually you see the tail raised but his is down which makes him look so dignified and stately.
My first thought was cockerel, too, until I noticed how long his tail is... Is there a breed with a long tail like tnat?
Ah, there is a long tailed Japanese cockerel. It is called an Onagadori and it is a special breed, a National Treasure:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onagadori
Good eye
Back to bed!
Thanks, Karen! You made me take another look at cockerels and solved this puzzle! There are a few different versions of Saegusa's mark, but all seem to have the trident/pitchfork character in the upper left corner of the block of characters and I can just make it out on this piece. Definitely a lot more research to do before making a final identification, though.
Thanks, Jenni! That is what first caught my eye!
Thanks for joining the cockerel faction! That pushed me over the edge! I had never heard of long tailed cockerels before.
Thanks for loving my Japanese cockerel okimono FreshAir, Thomas, aura Jenni, Watchsearcher and Karen!
A marvelous sculpture. According to your link, it is "an ancestor of the German Phoenix breed."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_chicken
I Love how the sculptor displays the tail.
Thanks for your comments Alfie21! Yup, thanks for the link!
Thanks for loving my okimono valentino97 and Alfie21!
Thanks jscott0363, Vynil33rpm and mikelv85!
I actually thought peacock for a while, somewhat too stylized to tell !~
I looked at rooster for awhile also.
It took me a while to figure it out, PhilDMorris! I had no idea that there were chickens with tails three feet long!
Thanks for taking a look at my long tailed rooster okimono Mrstyndall, mikelv85 and Vynil33rpm!
Thanks dav2no1 and antiquerose!
Thanks anne_dios!
Thanks for your comments, Eileen! I think this is an older work by Saegusa. I see this signature on his old stuff. I also have never seen another example of this one. I suspect it once had a tomobako.
Thanks for taking a look at my Saegusa okimono LovelyPat and ho2cultcha!
Thanks, vcal!