netsuke

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

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: In East Asia, the boar occupies the last position among the twelve animals of the calendrical cycle. 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 cycle and the two were therefore considered companions. Wearing a netsuke that featured paired calendrical animals was believed to combine the strengths of the animals and thereby bring good luck. (N. Tsuchiya, 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

Free entry