Okimono or sculpture in the form of a badger priest, of cast and cold-chiseled bronze, the eyes double inlaid in gold and shakudo. Signed on the reverse with a chiseled signature: Joun Saku or Made by Joun (Oshima Joun, 1858 – 1940). Taisho era, circa 1912 – 1926.

With the tomobako or original box inscribed on the interior of the lid: Ichijoken Joun Saku or Made by Ichijoken Joun.

Oshima Joun taught at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and was famous for his skill in casting. Stylistically his work often echoes the fluidity of European Art Nouveau, which was itself influenced by Japanese Art. Joun exhibited several studies of carp in waves in 1900 and again in 1910 in Paris and London.