This elaborate fire screen, titled Japan Gazing Upon the World, may have been exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The sculpture is made of bronze surrounded by a silver wicker-work pattern. The screen displays an eagle, representing Japan, looking upon the earth, shown as a golden sphere revolving in space. North America is prominently in view, perhaps alluding to the new trade between Japan and the United States. Sugiura Yukimune was a lecturer in metalwork at the Tokyo School of Art. He also worked for the First Trading and Manufacturing Company founded in 1873 by the Meiji government. He and his older brother, Yukinari, were both metal artists, with a specialty in bronze-casting and engraving in gold, silver and copper.
Fire Screen, Sugiura Yukimune
