Japanese silvered bronze cockatoo signed Mitani Meiji period

Japanese bronze sulphur-crested cockatoo perched gracefully on a gnarled plum blossom tree trunk, one talon delicately raised to its beak in a moment of lifelike expression. The cockatoo's body is silvered, its crested feathers richly gilded, and its eyes inlaid with glass enhancing its vivid naturalism.The feather work finely engraved and carved signed in an oval reserve Mitani sei 三谷製 (made by Mitani), Meiji period (1868-1912).

Exotic birds, such as the cockatoo, frequently appeared in Japanese art, most notably in the kachō-e (bird-and-flower) paintings of renowned artist Kōno Bairei. These birds were kept by the wealthy or aristocrats, symbolizing affluence and sophistication.

Reference: for a comparable example by the same artist Mitani, see 'The Golden Age of Japanese Okimono, the Dr. Kanter Collection' by Laura Bordignon, ACC Woodbridge 2010, Metalwork pg. 244.

See also 'Imperial Japan: the Art of the Meiji era’ by Frederick Baekeland, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York 1980. Catalogue no. 106 features a bronze eagle on a stump by Mitani, demonstrating the artist's mastery in animal forms.

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