A bronze vase depicting Shiba Onko


Meiji eraThe vase with drip-effect at shoulder and one side decorated with a kariko (Chinese boy) bursting from a large crack in a rush of water, Shiba Onko stands below with a rock, churning waves form an integral tripod stand, four-character mark to base.24.8cm high.
|Shiba Onko (Chian/Sima Qian in Chinese) was a famous statesman and historian of the Han Dynasty. This is an episode linked to his childhood, when it was said that Shiba Onko and his companions were watching fish in a huge jar when one of them fell in but whilst the rest of his playmates ran away shrieking, leaving the child to drown, Shiba Onko used a rock to break the jar to drain out the water and set his companion free. This episode was a popular theme among Edo-period artists as a parable of virtuous behaviour.