Japan ivory eagle Meiji period

Important sculpture made of ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl, ebony, coral, and moon stone representing an eagle with widely open wings and talons caught to a tree branch, the whole being mounted on a back burgundy lacquer panel. The eagle’s head is made of ivory and is set with a moon-stone eye whose middle is inserted with a black ebony iris. The plumage consists in alternate rows of bone and mother-of-pearl and the ivory paws end with mother-of-pearl talons. Some ivory, mother-of-pearl and coral leaves emerge from the branch and spread all over the panel. The lacquered wood frame is decorated with leaves and woodcuts.

Meiji period (Japan) : 1890-1900