Masuo Ikeda (池田満寿夫) 1934–1997

A Bronze Flower Vessel with Gold Leaf - Fable (寓話)

Showa Era (1926-1989) or Heisei Era (1989-2019) 

About the work

A striking sculptural bronze flower vessel titled “寓話” (Fable) by Masuo Ikeda, one of Japan’s most celebrated and unconventional postwar artists. Known for his surreal, narrative-rich imagery across media, Ikeda brings a painter’s drama and a novelist’s symbolism into this rare and expressive three-dimensional work.

The vessel features an angular, craggy form cast in bronze with a rich green patina, evocative of natural stone or mythic terrain. The neck and lip are embellished with brilliant gold leaf, providing a striking visual and conceptual contrast—earth and opulence, roughness and refinement. The artist’s engraved signature “M. Ikeda” is present on the body, and the piece comes complete with its original signed tomobako (wooden box), protective cloth, and certificate of authenticity, indicating it is number 102 of a limited edition of 300.

Dimensions

11cm(h) x 9.5cm(w) x 8.5(d)

Footnote

Masuo Ikeda (1934–1997) was a prolific and genre-defying artist—printmaker, sculptor, novelist, filmmaker, and winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. His work has been exhibited globally and is included in major institutional collections such as MoMA, the British Museum, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. This bronze vessel, part of his late sculptural series, reflects his lifelong exploration of fantasy, transformation, and the subconscious through bold, tactile form