Iron, marugata, carving done in takabori style, depicting a scene from the Three Kingdoms, where Emperor Liu Bei escapes his pursuers by crossing the Tan River.
The style is reminiscent of Sōten. Two hitsu ana. Late Edo period.
In pristine condition. Never mounted.
The story:
Once, Liu Bei camped at Fancheng with his soldiers. Liu Biao was friendly to him however he was also anxious about Liu Bei’s conduct and did not place much trust in him. One day, had asked Liu Bei to join him for a banquet. Kuai Yue and Cai Mao however wanted to use this as an occasion to kill him. Liu Bei saw through this, pretended to go to the toilet and nimbly escaped. His horse was named Dilu (的盧), and he quickly rode him. However, during the pursuit, he fell into the waters of the Tan Stream west of Xiangyang city. Liu Bei was drowning and couldn’t get away from the river. He then cried: “Dilu! Today I’m in dire straits! Give it your all!” Dilu then jumped three zhang (7 meters) in a single leap and thus both of them got across. Quickly they found a ferry and crossed the river. While they were at half of the river, the pursuers caught up to them and could only apologize on Liu Biao’s behalf.
Mei/signature:
Mumei
School/province:
Sōten style
Period/age:
Edo
Measures:
8.30 cm x 7.90 cm x 0.40 cm
Certificate:
No
Included:
NO kiri box included
