Netsuke, The first bath, ca. 1840–1860
Ivory
Height3 cm
About the workIn Japan, personal hygiene is deeply connected to the Shinto concept of cleanliness. This small figure, called netsuke, shows the close relationship between mother and child when washing or bathing. Netsuke figures 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[...]; o.D. Sammlung Marcel Lorber (1900- 1986); o.D. Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Bruno Werdelmann (1920 – 2010), Ratingen; 2004 erworben durch Schenkung von Bruno Werdelmann
Inventory numberP 2005-394
