Enraged beasts. Japan, Meiji period, 19th century

Enraged beasts. Japan, Meiji period, 19th century.
Signed on the reverse.
On carved wooden base.
Weight 324 gr.
Certificates from the Spanish Federation of Antique Dealers and the Guild of Antique Dealers of Catalonia are enclosed, the latter updated in November 2022.
Measurements: 6 x 27 x 6 cm (figure); 1.5 x 30 x 8.5 cm (base).
Sculptural group in carved ivory representing two fierce tigers struggling between life and death with a lion, in a violent melee. The sculptor adapts the aggressive movements of the animals to the material he is working with, creating an elongated figure that makes the most of the available ivory. The beasts have been worked with remarkable naturalism, accurately reproducing the anatomy of both, and are entirely covered with carved and chiselled motifs. The highly individualised fur on each of the animals, a characteristic feature of Chinese ivory carvings, shows the skill of the craftsman, who perfectly reflects the anatomical details of the animals. The sculptures are extremely naturalistic in their modelling, which nevertheless combines a certain idealisation in areas such as the face, while respecting the volumes of the animals' anatomy. In this way, images of greater nobility and a timeless sense are obtained, ideal for the decoration of a large house. This type of representation, although already present in antiquity, is comparable to and has its direct origin in the animal sculpture of the 19th century.