netsuke

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Object Type
Museum number: F.676
Description: Netsuke. Boar and snake. Made of wood, with eyes inlaid in dark horn. Signed.
Producer name
Cultures/periods
Production date: Mid 19thC
Production place: Made in: Hida (kuni)
Materials: wood; horn (for eyes)
Technique: carved; inlaid
Dimensions: Width: 4.50 centimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Boar and snake Signed Sukenaga Wood, 1800s (Label copy, 2017); In Japan the boar occupies the last position among the twelve animals of the zodiac cycle. In China the pig is traditionally assigned this last position, but as the pig is not a species native to Japan the indigenous boar took its place. The boar rushes headlong into attack, and is therefore regarded as a symbol of courage that is occasionally reckless. The snake is exactly six animals apart from the boar in the twelve-year animal cycle, and the two were therefore considered companions. Wearing a netsuke that featured paired zodiac animals was believed to combine the strengths of the animals and thereby enhance good luck. (NT 2015)
Bibliographic references: Barker & Smith 1976 / Netsuke: The Miniature Sculpture of Japan (206); Tsuchiya 2014 / Netsuke: 100 miniature masterpieces from Japan (pp.140-141)
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: 2013 - , BM Japanese Galleries, ‘Japan from Prehistory to the Present’.
Subjects: mammal (boar); reptile (snake)
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1897
Department: Asia
Registration number: F.676
Conservation

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