The Butterfly Dancers - Bronze - 1901 By Tatsugoro Okajima (1880 -1962) #742

The butterfly dancers, bronzes dated 1901 under the base - wear, one wing reattached - are missing branches in the figures' right hands (see photos). They represent the kocho-mai ("butterfly dance"), an ancient form of Japanese court dance that appeared in the Heian period (794-1185). The dancers wear costumes evoking butterfly wings, a crown, and a piece of plant branch in their right hand. This dance, a symbol of Japanese imperial tradition, evokes the fragile and fleeting beauty of the present. Tatsugoro Okajima (1880 -1962) - foundry artist and art dealer - He studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from 1897 to 1901 in the foundry department. He graduated from the School of Fine Arts and in 1903 built a metal foundry in Tabata, dedicated to the production of bronze objects. This foundry proved to be the first step in his flight that took him to the United States in the workshops of Tiffany & Co in New York in 1909. While working on designing models for the Tiffany & Co foundry, he also took evening classes in design and casting techniques to refine his expertise. - He founded his store of ancient Asian art in 1918 in New York (Madison Avenue). A dealer, but also a fervent collector, he contributed to making Japanese art accessible. - He participated in the creation of the first public art museum in Fukui Prefecture in Japan. His last years left an unusual image of him: old, but still full of energy, he drove his Rolls-Royce through the streets of New York. An illustrated note on the artist will be given to the buyer. Total weight 12 kg -