Ojime Bead Carved as a Coiled Snake, Brown-Stained Scales, Mammoth Tusk
Ojime Bead Carved as a Coiled Snake, Brown-Stained Scales, 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 $21, 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
- QuietResplendent Balanced 5.5 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
Condition report
Very Good8.0 / 10
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Benzaiten's Messenger
A charming zodiac bead and a fitting finish to a cord, or a talisman in its own right.
Best for: Collectors of ojime and zodiac charms
Condition notes
Light marks of handling and age. Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
Assessed from photographs and descriptionReport dated 14 November 2026
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 tiny coiled snake, its head resting on its own loops, every scale engraved and stained brown.
The Piece
The snake winds into a compact knot about two centimetres across, pierced through the centre for the cord. The scales are cut in a neat lattice and filled with brown so that the pattern stands out against the pale ground, and the eyes are inked. Light marks of handling are noted.
It is carved on all sides, with no flat back.
Iconography and Meaning
The snake is the sixth zodiac animal and the messenger of Benzaiten, goddess of music, water and wealth. A white snake is especially lucky, and a snake charm kept in the purse is said to make money return.
Western collectors have sought carvings like this since the opening of Japan, and the great cabinets formed then, now in the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert and the Metropolitan, set the taste that still governs the field: wit, finish, a subject with a story, and a form that is pleasing from every side. This piece answers on each count.
Details
- Type: Ojime, cord bead
- Subject: Coiled snake
- Material: Woolly mammoth tusk
- Technique: Hand carving, staining and ink engraving
- Colour: Ivory white with brown
- Size: about 16 x 20 mm (0.6 x 0.8 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
- Light marks of handling and age are present; the Desk will send close photographs of any area on request.
- Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade B (good, light wear) 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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