Netsuke, Chinese Sage, ca. 1850
MediumIvory, pupils inlaid in reddisch-brown horn
Height6,9 cm
About the workWith the introduction of Zen Buddhism in Japan, Chinese figures, such as this scholar, also became a popular netsuke motif. As small figures, called Netsuke, they were used as counterweights to attach containers for medicine, tobacco or money to the belt of the kimono, known as the "obi". Predominantly made of ivory and boxwood, the objects were first created in the seventeenth century and evolved into status symbols. When Japan opened up to the West in the 1860s, kimonos went out of fashion and so did netsuke.
AccessionGift of Bruno Werdelmann 2004
Provenanceo.D. Sammlung Mary O'Brien; [...]; bis 25.10.2004 Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Bruno Werdelmann (1920 – 2010), Ratingen; 25.10.2004 erworben durch Schenkung von Bruno Werdelmann
Inventory numberP 2005-123
