Japanese bronze eagle signed Masatsune Meiji period

Japanese bronze eagle naturalistically modelled with its wings folded closely to the body and its head slightly inclined conveying alert vigilance. The bird is perched on a gnarled root wood base with knot-like formations providing a visual contrast to the finely worked surface of the bronze. The plumage is finely rendered, each feather individually carved and layered. The beak, eyes and talons are inlaid in shakudō and gilt, signed on a rectangular plaque Masatsune chū 政常鋳 (cast by Masatsune), Meiji period 1868-1912.

The artist Masatsune 政常 was a highly accomplished sculptor, particularly renowned for his depictions of birds, in which close observation of nature is combined with exceptional technical refinement.

The eagle (washi 鷲), admired for its commanding presence and formidable strength, is a potent symbol of majesty and power in Japanese art and shares much of its symbolic resonance with the hawk. Both birds were closely associated with martial virtues and were favoured subjects in sculpture, painting, hanging scrolls, and folding screens. During the Meiji period, such imagery became especially popular as emblems of the warrior class, embodying ideals of authority, vigilance, and dominance.

Reference: for related bronze bird sculptures see 'The Golden Age of Japanese Okimono: The Dr. Kanter Collection', by Laura Bordignon, ACC Woodbridge 2010, Metalwork, no. 248.

'Meiji no Takara 明治の宝: Treasures of Imperial Japan, the Nasser D. Khalili Collection', the Kibo Foundation 1995, Metalwork Part II, no. 104-105.

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