A bronze figure of a samurai holding a torch, signed Miyao on an inlaid gilt tablet, Japan, Meiji period, late 19th century

Private collection, Steinitz, Paris.

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2015.

The Miyao Company of Yokohama was founded by the eponymous Miyao Eisuke (dates unknown). The workshop’s prolific output predominantly comprised richly patinated bronzeware with ornate gilt detailing. Most often associated with large scale bronze models of warriors or figures from Japanese myth and legend, works from the Miyao Company strongly appealed to its contemporary Western buyers, especially after the privilege of sword bearing and stipends was abolished with the Haitorei Edict of 1876.

Although the Miyao workshop was foremost concerned with bronzes, the company is also recorded exhibiting works in wood in the second National Industrial Exposition (Naikoku kangyo hakurankai) of 1881 and is thought to have manufactured or dealt in Shibayama-work panels, as well as carved ivory. Somewhat surprisingly, the elaborate decoration of Miyao work is not carried out in soft metal inlays, but rather through gilding alone.

For further reading, see Joe Earle, Splendors of Meiji: Treasures of Imperial Japan, Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, (Florida, 1999), pp. 85 and 119.