A bronze baluster vase
Attributed to Kibundo Shohei (1813–1892), Meiji (1868-1912), late 19th centuryThe reddish-brown body applied with a tree frog in high relief of bronze crawling up one side towards the top of the vase as it spies a spider on the rim, signed on the base with chiselled signature Kibun tsukuru; with a wood storage box inscribed on the lid Seidoko-shiki kabin (Flower vase in the style of archaic Chinese bronze vase) with a seal, inside the lid signed Kibundo Shohei tsukuru with a seal Kasetsu Nihon Biwako no higashi (Our family is clumsily located to the east of Lake Biwa in Japan). 25.5cm (10in) high. (2).
注脚
The founder of the Kibundo Company, Kibundo Shohei (also known as Hatano Shohei) was apprenticed at age 11 to the Ryubundo Company of Kyoto, where he studied the art of casting in bronze and iron for 17 years before setting up his own business. After much disruption due to the political upheavals of the late Edo period, he finally settled in the Notogawa district (today's Higashi-Omi City) near Lake Biwa.