A silken young girl in repose above a jagged river rock, with her right arm counters the lightly leaning torso, left arm rested above the adjacent knees, one foot half submerged in the rippling water, her tilted head and wistful gaze induce a placidity to the curves of her budding femininity. The simplicity and natural beauty endowed in this nude bather caught the charms of a girl innocently demure and yet to conscious of her simple beauty. There is a couple of small drilled holes near the base; presumably for fastening the 18 lbs bronze for display purpose-- which ultimately resulted in our rare find of an extraordinary Okazaki Sessei.
*Okazaki Sessei is a historically important artist from the Meiji period. He achieved a preeminent artist status through the monumental bronze of Saigo Takamori at Ueno Park, and the Kusanoki Masashige on Horse monument at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. His works are in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum. Click Here to see a similar bronze Bather at Bonhams...