Jizai okimono, €34,000 (£29,310) at Zacke.
It came from a British collection and was crafted by an unknown Japanese metalworker who created the articulated bird from numerous segments of iron. Such figures were known as jizai okimono.
Under the reign of the Meiji Emperor, who became ruler in 1868, there was little demand for armour and weapons. Soon, the bearing of a sword was outlawed. Metalworkers sought a new outlet for their skills and they began producing such figures which became popular among collectors at home and abroad.
The artists seldom chose human figures - their clientele preferred models of insects, fish, crustaceans, and on occasion dragons. Bird figures were rare, a fact not lost on the bidders in Vienna, who drove the price to a hammer price of €34,000 (£29,310).
