Carved Wood Hadaka Benzaiten Playing the Biwa, Hidden Erotic Carving, Gilt Accents, Display Case Not Included
Carved Wood Hadaka Benzaiten Playing the Biwa, Hidden Erotic Carving, Gilt Accents, Display Case Not Included
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- Estados Unidos · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $72, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- Ornate 7.4 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Excellent
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
The Goddess Unclothed
Benzaiten, goddess of music, eloquence and flowing water, sits cross-legged with her biwa raised, a jewel at her throat. Lift the figure from its pedestal and the carver has a private surprise beneath, the hidden-scene humour so loved in Japanese erotic art.
Best for: Collectors of Japanese wood carving, Buddhist and folk deities, and hidden shunga objects
Condition notes
No notable marks or soiling, as described; the carving appears crisp and clean. The figure, the pedestal and the biwa separate. The glass display case seen in the original photographs is not included.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
No se pudo cargar la disponibilidad de recogida
All sales are final. Please read our refund policy before purchase.
Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
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A carved wood Benzaiten seated unclothed with her biwa on a gilt-touched pedestal, with a concealed erotic carving beneath. The glass display case seen in the original photographs is not included.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Benzaiten, the only goddess among the Seven Lucky Gods, rules over music, eloquence and flowing water, and is almost always shown with the biwa, the Japanese lute. A smaller, much-loved tradition, the hadaka Benzaiten, shows her unclothed, as at the famous image on Enoshima.
She sits cross-legged with the biwa raised to her shoulder, hair drawn up in a high knot, a necklace at her throat. The pale wood is cut in smooth, rounded planes; the biwa has its frets, pegs and a decorated soundboard, and the pedestal is cut in deep, flowing strokes picked out with gilt.
The figure lifts from the pedestal and the biwa comes free. Beneath, the carver has hidden an explicit anatomical detail, the private joke of the hidden-scene objects of Japanese erotic art.
Details
- Subject: Benzaiten, seated unclothed, playing the biwa
- Form: Okimono, figure with separate pedestal and biwa
- Material: Carved pale wood with gilt accents
- Period: Undated
- Size: Smaller than its former case of 24 x 27 cm (9.4 x 10.6 in); exact height being confirmed against our archive records
- Not included: The glass display case
- Made in: Japan
Please write to the Desk for exact measurements.
Condition
- No notable marks or soiling seen; the carving is crisp and clean.
- The glass display case is not included, for safe travel.
Condition grade A (excellent) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a carved wood figure with gilt accents; unsigned and undated, and no maker or age is claimed. Keep from sun, heat and damp.
Delivery from Japan
The three parts are wrapped separately, double boxed 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 published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and among our Buddhist statues and sacred art.
Concierge
Looking for a fitting display case or a companion deity? Our Hunting Salon™ locates such pieces across Japan's private collector circles, then inspects, documents and delivers them to you. Begin a Hunting Salon™ request.
Collectors also search: hadaka Benzaiten carving · Benzaiten with biwa okimono · hidden shunga wood figure
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