Okimono or sculpture in the form of a leaping deer. Of cast bronze, inlaid extensively in silver. Signed on the reverse with an inlaid silver and red bronze seal form signature by the artist: Kaishu (Takahashi Kaishu, born 1905). Showa era, circa 1960 – 1970.

With the tomobako or original box, inscribed on the exterior of the lid: Kaga Zogan Soshu or Kaga Inlaid (Sculpture Titled:) Fresh Autumn; and on the reverse of the lid signed: Kaga Kaishu Tsukuru or Made by Kaishu of Kaga, and sealed.

Takahashi Kaishu was born in Kanazawa, and graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1929. In the same year he was accepted into the Teiten. In 1930 Kaishu exhibited in Belgium at the World Exposition and received an award, also winning a gold medal in 1933 at the Chicago International Exposition. After the War, Takahashi Kaishu continued to exhibit widely. In 1982 he was designated Juyo Mukei Bunkazai or Important Intangible Cultural Asset (commonly referred to as Ningen Kokuho or Living National Treasure).

One of the most prominent artists to continue working in the Kaga metalworking tradition, Takahashi Kaishu specialized in bronze casting and soft metal inlay. His modernist adaptations of traditional techniques are widely collected. For another of his pieces in the collection of the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum, c.f. The Art of Ishikawa, plate 288.