A brilliant bronze image of a sleeping Tanuki dressed in robes by important early 20th century Japanese Bronze artist Oshima Joun signed on the base and accompanied by a black lacquered wooden display table. The heavily lidded eyes are open, the soft flow of inlayed gold defining the iris. It is 28.5 x 18 x 11 cm (11-1/4 x 7 x 4-1/2 inches) and weighs 2.75 kg (6 pounds). It is in perfect condition.
Oshima Joun was professor at the Tokyo Art School from 1887 to 1932. His works were selected to represent Japan at the World Exposition in Paris (1900). There is a dearth of information available, specifically, for more on this artist see Victor Harris, Japanese Imperial Craftsmen, Meiji Art from the Khalili Collection (London, 1994) and or Arts of the East and West from World Expositions (2004).
