{"product_id":"risque-netsuke-of-a-laughing-tengu-mask-embraced-by-otafuku-mammoth-tusk","title":"Risque Netsuke of a Laughing Tengu Mask Embraced by Otafuku, Mammoth Tusk","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"jp-product\" data-world=\"Japan Luxury Archive\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-lede\"\u003eA long-nosed tengu mask with rolling eyes, and beside it Otafuku in a red skirt, hugging the famous nose with a look of delight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-note\"\u003eThis piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mask is carved hollow like a real one, with a grey beard and black-ringed eyes, and it forms a curved shell behind which the little figure stands. She is bare to the waist, round-cheeked and smiling, her hair inked black and her wrap stained vermilion. Seen from underneath the composition is frankly erotic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCord holes are drilled in the back of the mask beside a small engraved mark.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIconography and Meaning\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tengu's nose and Otafuku's laughter are paired at shrine festivals across Japan as male and female emblems of fertility, an innocent bawdiness as old as the myth of Ame-no-Uzume dancing before the cave. The pairing is a wish for children and a good harvest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNetsuke were the first Japanese objects that the collectors of nineteenth-century Paris and London fell in love with: the Goncourt brothers, Siegfried Bing and the circle around the Impressionists kept them in their pockets and wrote of them as sculpture complete in miniature. That first wave of Japonisme has never really ended, and a carving of this quality shows why.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"jp-details\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Katabori netsuke, carved in the round\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSubject:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tengu mask with Otafuku\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Woolly mammoth tusk\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTechnique:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand carving, staining and ink engraving\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ivory white with vermilion, grey and black\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLength:\u003c\/strong\u003e 37 mm (1.5 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWidth:\u003c\/strong\u003e 25 mm (1.0 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 44 mm (1.7 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod:\u003c\/strong\u003e Contemporary, in the classical tradition\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMade in:\u003c\/strong\u003e Japan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeasured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 mm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCondition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo conspicuous marks, chips or repairs are noted.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStaining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvery photograph is part of the description.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition grade \u003cstrong\u003eA (excellent)\u003c\/strong\u003e on the Japanese scale; see \u003ca href=\"\/de\/blogs\/news\/japanese-condition-ranks-explained\"\u003eJapanese condition ranks, explained\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthenticity \u0026amp; Care\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCarved by hand in Japan from the tusk of the woolly mammoth, an extinct species whose fossil tusk is not elephant ivory and is not listed under CITES. It is a contemporary work in the classical tradition, examined and photographed in Japan before dispatch. Rules on mammoth tusk differ between countries and, in the United States, between states; please confirm that it may be received at your address before you buy. Keep away from direct sun, dry heat and sudden changes of humidity, and handle with clean dry hands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDelivery from Japan\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWrapped by hand in Japan in soft tissue and a rigid case, and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our \u003ca href=\"\/de\/policies\/refund-policy\"\u003epublished policy\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"jp-closing\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConsidered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Further pieces of the kind are kept in \u003ca href=\"\/de\/collections\/shunga-hidden-arts\"\u003eShunga and Hidden Arts\u003c\/a\u003e and in the wider room of \u003ca href=\"\/de\/collections\/japanese-netsuke-sagemono-inro\"\u003eNetsuke, Sagemono and Inro\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"jp-cta\" data-world=\"Japan Luxury Archive\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-cta-eyebrow\"\u003eConcierge\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking for a particular subject, carver or companion piece? Our Hunting Salon™ locates it across Japan's private collector circles, then inspects, documents and delivers it to you. \u003ca href=\"\/de\/pages\/hunting-salon%E2%84%A2\"\u003eBegin a Hunting Salon™ request\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-search\"\u003eCollectors also search: risque netsuke, tengu mask and otafuku · mammoth tusk netsuke from Japan · tengu netsuke\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Netsuke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54482502943013,"sku":"JP-CL-E1217059880","price":1180.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0758\/8829\/6229\/files\/risque-netsuke-of-a-laughing-tengu-mask-embraced-by-otafuku-mammoth-tusk-01.jpg?v=1794582568","url":"https:\/\/japonista.com\/de\/products\/risque-netsuke-of-a-laughing-tengu-mask-embraced-by-otafuku-mammoth-tusk","provider":"Japonista","version":"1.0","type":"link"}