Netsuke, Head of a Foreigner, 17th–18th century

Stag antler

Height5,7 cm

Status

on display, room 008

About the workThe depiction of people from other countries was a popular netsuke motif. This curious head depicts one of the many Malaysian fishermen who lived in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. Netsuke are small carved sculptures. They are counterweights used 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

Provenance[...]; bis 25.10.2004 Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Bruno Werdelmann (1920 – 2010), Ratingen; 25.10.2004 erworben durch Schenkung von Bruno Werdelmann

Inventory numberP 2005-19

Contact

sammlung@kunstpalast.de

Permalink

https://sammlung.kunstpalast.de/en/objects/345243/netsuke-kopf-eines-auslanders

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