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Japanese cast iron box depicting woodblock print titled “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”

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Japanese Metalwork26 of 150Cast iron Sotaro Saegusa monkeysJapanese cast iron squirrel nutcracker
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    Posted 2 years ago

    kwqd
    (1189 items)

    This cast iron box is about 4" square and 2" high. Due to the the thickness of the cast iron, it is only about 1.75" deep. It is unmarked but has a Kotobuki label on it. Guessing it was made by Iwachu, Oigen or Oitomi, but that is just a guess. Those foundries generally mark their work in the mold, but not always. Oigen, in particular, sometimes does not mark their work. This box dates from the 1970s to 2021 when Kotobuki went out of business. In a hundred years it will be a collectible!

    I have wanted a Japanese iron box for some time and got tired of waiting for a vintage piece at a good price. This box was pretty affordable, the mold work is good and it is an interesting piece. The images is from a woodblock print titled “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, probably made in 1831 by Japanese artist Hokusai. Said to be the most copied image in history:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa

    Thanks to Watchsearcher for identifying this image. I did not recognize it even though I have a color print of it hanging in my house! (Blush)

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    Comments

    1. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks Kevin!
    2. Watchsearcher Watchsearcher, 2 years ago
      The scene is of a tidal wave. The original piece was a woodblock print titled “The Great Wave of Kanagawa”, probably made in 1831 by Japanese artist Hokusai.
    3. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      D'oh! Thanks Watchsearcher! I have a print of this woodblock hanging in my kitchen and still did not recognize it! It is one of the few mass produced prints I own.... Getting old...

    4. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks for loving my Japanese iron box Watchsearcher and Drake47!
    5. Watchsearcher Watchsearcher, 2 years ago
      I’m a member of that same “getting old” group!
    6. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks blunderbuss2!
    7. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks fortapache!
    8. Newfld Newfld, 2 years ago
      Beautiful box, the wave design is fantastic!
    9. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks for your comments, Jenni! It definitely fills a hole in my collection!

      Thanks for checking out my iron box Alfie21, WhenIsraelbelieves, Jenni, Reise, Daisy1000 and vcal!

    10. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks, Ben!
    11. Justlooken12, 2 years ago
      very neat.............love the waves..
    12. kwqd kwqd, 2 years ago
      Thanks for your comment, Justlooken12. Thanks for loving my iron box Justlooken12 and PhilDMorris!

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