The Rat - Wooden Statuette, 1924 - By Seiichi Kineya 1897-1970 #744

The rat is a sign of the Japanese Zodiac - This type of figurine was offered on the occasion of the Year of the Rat. The artist is Seiichi Kineya 1897-1970. Born in June 1897 in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture - In 1912 he joined the lithography department of the newspaper San'in Nichinichi Shimbun. In 1913, he left the company and moved to Tokyo - In 1914-1915, he joined the army and, after his demobilization, returned to Tokyo and studied under Toda Kaiteki (a Western-style sculptor and painter who died in 1931 in Paris). In 1920, he exhibited at the 34th Exhibition of the Japan Sculpture Association, and in 1922, he was selected for the first time to the 9th Exhibition of the Japan Academy of Fine Arts, and this on 22 occasions thereafter. In 1961, when the sculpture department of the academy was dissolved, he merged with other members of the academy to form the Nihon Gafu, thus creating the sculpture department of the Japan Academy of Fine Arts. Lightly gilded wood - dated October of the tenth year Taisho (1924) - and a dedication for the 42nd birthday of a certain Yoshida Shin. Two micro chips on the edge. Presentation box dimensions 24 x 24.5 x 18.5 (traces of humidity/shocks)