Netsuke of a Recumbent Ox with Rope Halter and Inlaid Eyes, Mammoth Tusk
Netsuke of a Recumbent Ox with Rope Halter and Inlaid Eyes, Mammoth Tusk
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · 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 6.5 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 4.7 cm | 1.9 in |
| Height | 2.5 cm | 1.0 in |
| Depth | 2.8 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 Patient One
A subject every serious netsuke collection needs, here in a clean and well-proportioned example.
Best for: Collectors of Kyoto-school animal subjects and zodiac 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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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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An ox at rest, legs folded and head turned, its halter rope trailing over its back.
The Piece
This is the classic ox of the Kyoto school, the subject made famous by Tomotada in the eighteenth century: heavy, placid, with a hide engraved in thousands of short hair lines and stained to a soft tan. The eyes are inlaid dark and ringed in white and the rope is carved in a twisted relief that runs from the nose ring along the flank.
Underneath, the hooves are neatly tucked and a red seal signature is cut between them.
Iconography and Meaning
The ox is the second zodiac animal and the mount of Tenjin, the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane, whose shrines are guarded by reclining oxen that students stroke for luck. In Zen it is the image of the mind being tamed.
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: Recumbent ox with halter
- Material: Woolly mammoth tusk
- Technique: Hand carving, staining and ink engraving
- Colour: Ivory white with tan and black
- Length: 47 mm (1.9 in)
- Width: 28 mm (1.1 in)
- Height: 25 mm (1.0 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 noted.
- 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.
Concierge
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