| Antique
Japanese Netsuke Vanity
Mirror Oni
Flattering Okame
Signature: Togyoku. Circa: arly 20th Century
H
1.5 in.(4cm), W 1.5 in.(4cm), D 1.2 in.(3cm)
Condition: hairlines, o.a. very good Antique
netsuke in fine quality ivory, replete with markings and crosshatching in the
grain, showing some age in the rich and mellow cream-to-gold patina and blue age
cracks at the back. The work is very well carved, with fine engraving and sumi
in the hair lifted elegantly into a complex style and the embroideries on her
robes. This perhaps less than beautiful and somewhat mature geisha is attending
to her toilette holding a ribboned mirror while a mischievous or perhaps merely
voyeuristic oni offers her a provisional phallus.
Private Collection |