ATSUYOSHI FOR THE MARUKI COMPANY: A MASTERFUL PORTRAIT BRONZE OKIMONO OF A STRIDING HORSE By Miyabe Atsuyoshi for the Maruki company, signed Atsuyoshi saku and Maruki shachu sei Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) The horse mounted to a carved wood base, its posture imbued with movement, the mane and sweeping tail naturalistically modeled and heightened with fine incision work. The muscular body of the horse is superbly crafted, several bulging veins worked in low relief add to the superior realism of the bronze. Signed to the underside of the belly ATSUYOSHI saku [made by Atsuyoshi] and with a square seal MARUKI shachu sei [manufactured at the Maruki company]. HEIGHT 32 cm, LENGTH 37 cm WEIGHT 4,684 g Condition: Excellent condition. Only very minor, expected wear. Miyabe Atsuyoshi, art name Ikkodo, is recorded in Wakayama Takeshi, Kinko Jiten (Dictionary of Metalworkers), Tokyo, Token Shunju Shinbunsha, 1999, p. 1141, as being a maker of sword fittings and a pupil of Shinoyama Tokuoki (1813-1891), active in Kyoto during the late Edo period and early Meiji era. Atsuyoshi is known for a number of finely modeled bronze studies of both wild and domesticated animals, almost all of them made for the Maruki Company. The Maruki Company was active during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) in Japan, they stand out for the quality and weight of their okimono and are known for producing fine bronzes of animals. Auction comparison: A related bronze okimono of a bear, bearing the same signature and mark and by Atsuyoshi for the Maruki company, was sold at Bonhams, Ancient Skills, New Worlds Twenty Treasures of Japanese Metalwork from a Private Collection, 12 September 2018, New York, lot 19 ( sold for 21,250 USD ). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer`s premium – only for buyers within the EU.