Genryusai Seiya

Meiji period, 19th-20thth century

1868-1912

Okimono

A large bronze okimono of an Asian elephant being attacked by tigers. Beautifully textured elephant with a leaping tiger on the back and one under the hoof. The tiger stripes are raised using an acid etching technique. Two ivory tusks have been used for this bronze.

The subject matter of this bronze is quite inaccurate as the likelihood of a tiger attacking, and elephant in the wild is extremely unlikely let alone two tigers as they are solitary animals unless adolescent tigers together from childhood. It is quite understandable that this creates a dynamic subject matter for displaying in bronze giving energy for display. The modeling has been expertly done being anatomically correct in both size relation to the elephant and tigers and the animals themselves.

 By the time Genryusai Seiya and other artists of the Meiji period would have seen real animals such as elephants and tigers would most likely been in the zoological gardens of Tokyo which was opened in 1882 giving a far more realistic depiction of exotic animals.

370mm x 265mm

Signed Seiya saku