| Antique
Japanese Carved Okimono
Wood
Worker
Smoking Break
Circa:
Late Meiji to Taisho Period, early 1900s'
H
6.25 in.(16cm), W 3 in.(8cm), D 3.5 in.(9cm)
Condition: hairlines, o.a. very good
This
okimono of ivory and fruitwood depicts a woodworker upright in the dignity of
his profession, a reminder of the contentment and satisfaction to be earned by
the exercise of right livelihood. Carving is lively and subtle, the head marked
with black ink for the eyes and eyebrows and the slight stubble of beard; the
ivory hands and feet are strongly carved with fingernails and toenails meticulously
outlined. The robe which is embroidered with ginkgo leaves is painstakingly thinned
at the edges to evoke the suppleness of flowing fabric. In all a fine early 20th
century okimono, exalting the virtues of ordinary life. 
Private Collection
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