Japanese silvered bronze cranes signed Hideano Meiji period

Japanese pair of silvered bronze Manchurian cranes (tancho-zuru) one standing with its head raised, the other lowered with its wing outstretched, details in shakudo and gold on a carved wood base, signed in chiselled characters Hidenao 秀尚 (Shūshō), Meiji period (1868-1912). 

In Japan the crane is an auspicious symbol of long life because of its fabled life span of a thousand years, luck and fidelity as cranes pair for life.

Reference:' The Golden Age of Japanese Okimono, the Dr. Kanter Collection' by Laura Bordignon, ACC Woodbridge 2010, Metalwork pg. 254.

See also: ' Meiji no Takara 明治の宝 Treasures of Imperial Japan, the D. Khalili Collection', Metalwork Part II, no. 107.

‘Meiji no chōkin: Unno Shōmin to sono shūhen (Metal carving of the Meiji era: Unno Shomin and his vicinity) Sannomaru Shōzōkan Exhibition catalogue 2006, no. 31.

Size without wood base: H 38.5cm (15.15" in.) x W 31cm (12.20" in) and H 25.5cm (10.03" in.) x W 23.5cm (9.25" in.)

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