Komin
Tokyo. Circa 1860
A group of three turtles. The larger of the amphibians forms the base and has its head drawn back under the carapace, while the two smaller ones scramble for dominance. The clawed webbed feet are braced to grip and push upwards. The pattern of the carapaces are carefully incised. The himotoshi are ringed with stag antler, one stained green.
F. Meinertzhagen (Lazarnck, MCI vol I, p. 380, publ. 1986) records 6 ‘tortoise’ groups by Komin which he describes as “models of living realism”.
