A large bronze tripod Koro attributed to the Kanazawa Doki Company

The bulbous body set on three tall stylized hoof-and-scroll feet and decorated in gold, silver and patinated metals with a large central scene of a man surprised by a magnificent shibuichi and shakudo striped tiger, the reverse with sparrows in silver against shakudo and gilt hibiscus blooms and two large gilt umebachi (star plum blossoms) in between, the cover with a flaming kirin finial and gilt seaweed scrolls also in striking gilt and shakudo.

Footnote: In the surprising absence of a seal or signature on a piece of this size and quality we have based the attribution to the Kanazawa Doki Company on the very high level of craftsmanship and the quality of the materials used. It is possible that Ozeki Yahei exported and exhibited this piece through the Kirya Kosho Company. The umebachi motif was originally the mon (heraldic device) of the Maeda family, daimyos of Kaga province, but in the Meiji period these symbols were increasingly used for purely decorative purposes on export wares.

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