Unusual Bizen Group of Three Sages With Attributes
$495
An unusual Bizen stoneware figural group depicting three sages with attributes in clouds in a stele formation. One with wheat and sword flanked by attendants, one also with wheat and sword and the other with a palm frond or banana leaf fan. The figures' attire and swords are Chinese in manner (as are many sages and deities in Japanese lore adopted from the Chinese.) It may be a less often seen interpretation of Daikoku considering the wheat and sword attributes and the attnedants (a common attendant of Daikoku being Ebisu.) Inscriptions on the back appear to relate to the figures. An impressed Bizen pottery mark in cartouche on the base. Good condition. Height, about 7 1/8 inches (18.1 cm)