Japanese bronze vase with flying bats signed Oshima Joun, Meiji period

Japanese bronze vase of ovoid form simulating russet iron. The shoulder carved in high relief with flying bats in the moonlight signed on the base with chiselled characters Joun 如雲 with a kao. Fitted wood stand and tomobako storage box, Meiji Period.

Bats (komori) are symbolic of good fortune, prosperity, happiness and immortality. They are also believed to be the messengers of Amaterasu, the Shinto goddess of the Sun. The full moon is an auspicious event, the combination of  bats and the moon suggests great happiness and contentment.

The artist Oshima Joun 大島如雲 (1858-1940), given name Yasutaro, was the son of the cast-metal worker Oshima Takajiro, whose father Yasubei had started the family business. He succeeded to the business in 1877 and took the art name Joun. He used the go Shokaken and became one of the great sculptors of the late Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods. He first exhibited in Paris in 1878 and also taught at the Tokyo Art School 東京美術学校 Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko from 1887 until 1932 and was a member of innumerable committees and panels of judges at exhibitions and competitions. He exhibited at several of the great international expositions of the era, including St. Louis (1904) and London (1910).

Reference: 'Meiji no Takara 明治の宝 Treasures of Imperial Japan, the D. Khalili Collection', Metalwork part II, no. 102.

Works by the artist are held in the collections of the Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan 東京国立博物館) Ueno Park, Taito ward and the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan 東京国立近代美術館).

Dimensions

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