JAPAN, Meiji period Two large Oni sculptures In polychrome lacquered wood, the two demons are represented on a human scale, standing twisted on quadrangular bases. The bodies are red with prominent muscles and veins, one holding heavy iron-tipped clubs known as "kanobo", the other also carrying a spear. They are dressed in short green loincloths, one wearing an anthropomorphic leggings with glass-encrusted eyes, the other wearing a chest harness set with iridescent stones, and they wear ankle and arm bracelets. The faces are clothed in ferocious expressions, the open mouths revealing sharp, gilded teeth, the wide noses, the glass eyes in a naturalistic style, the thick, furrowed eyebrows, the hairstyle treated in curls from which horns emerge. Height: 157 and 160 cm A set of two Oni of similar size, shown carrying a Gong, can be found in the collections of the MET Museum in New York, under reference 89.4.2016a-e.