Netsuke of a Monkey Wrestling an Octopus, Tentacles Carved in Relief, Mammoth Tusk
Netsuke of a Monkey Wrestling an Octopus, Tentacles Carved in Relief, Mammoth Tusk
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- États-Unis · 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 $118, 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 7.5 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 4.2 cm | 1.7 in |
| Height | 2.7 cm | 1.1 in |
| Depth | 2.7 cm | 1.1 in |
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 Monkey's Liver
A classic subject treated with real anatomical curiosity. The underside may be the best view.
Best for: Collectors of folk-tale subjects and animal netsuke
Condition notes
No conspicuous marks recorded. Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
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
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A monkey and an octopus locked in a struggle, eight suckered arms coiling round the animal as it pushes at the creature's great domed head.
The Piece
The carver makes a knot of the two bodies. Every tentacle is modelled with a double row of suckers and can be followed over and under the monkey's limbs, and the monkey's fur is engraved in short strokes and lightly stained. The octopus has inlaid eyes and the comic pursed mouth it always wears in Japanese art.
The underside is as fully carved as the top, with a red seal signature among the coils.
Iconography and Meaning
The subject comes from the folk tale in which the Dragon King of the Sea, needing a monkey's liver as medicine, sends a sea creature to fetch one; the monkey escapes by his wits. It was a favourite of the netsuke carvers of Edo and Osaka because it lets land and sea, fur and smooth skin, meet in one piece.
To the eye trained on European sculpture the appeal is immediate and a little startling: a complete composition, finished on every face including the one that rests on the table, in an object that weighs no more than a few coins. It was this union of intimacy and perfection that made the netsuke the emblem of Japonisme, and that keeps it at the centre of Western collections of Japanese art.
Details
- Type: Katabori netsuke, carved in the round
- Subject: Monkey and octopus in a struggle
- Material: Woolly mammoth tusk
- Technique: Hand carving, staining and ink engraving
- Colour: Ivory white with soft brown
- Length: 42 mm (1.7 in)
- Width: 27 mm (1.1 in)
- Height: 27 mm (1.1 in)
- Period: Contemporary, in the classical tradition
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 mm.
Condition
- No conspicuous marks, chips or repairs are recorded.
- Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade A (excellent) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Carved 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.
Delivery from Japan
Wrapped 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 published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. More in Netsuke, Sagemono and Inro and Okimono, Figurines and Statues.
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Collectors also search: netsuke, monkey wrestling an octopus · mammoth tusk netsuke from Japan · monkey netsuke
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