{"product_id":"shunga-netsuke-of-athletic-lovers-peony-robe-with-crest-roundel-mammoth-tusk","title":"Shunga Netsuke of Athletic Lovers, Peony Robe with Crest Roundel, Mammoth Tusk","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"jp-product\" data-world=\"Japan Luxury Archive\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-lede\"\u003eAn energetic pair, he with a wrestler's shoulders and a fierce topknot, she laughing beneath him with flowers in her hair.\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 composition is a diagonal of limbs, more dynamic than any other group here, and the faces carry it: his set in comic concentration, hers bright and amused. The carver contrasts the smooth polish of the bodies with deeply engraved peonies on the robe that is still half worn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the back a large crest roundel is engraved between the shoulders above trailing flowers, and the underside is finished with pattern and a red seal signature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIconography and Meaning\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVigorous, even acrobatic poses were a speciality of the later ukiyo-e masters, Kunisada and Eisen, who delighted in showing strength and laughter together. The peony again stands for abundance.\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 Athletic lovers in peony robe\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 red, green and black\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLength:\u003c\/strong\u003e 55 mm (2.2 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWidth:\u003c\/strong\u003e 27 mm (1.1 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 33 mm (1.3 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 recorded.\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=\"\/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=\"\/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=\"\/collections\/shunga-hidden-arts\"\u003eShunga and Hidden Arts\u003c\/a\u003e and in the wider room of \u003ca href=\"\/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=\"\/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: shunga netsuke, athletic lovers in peony robe · mammoth tusk netsuke from Japan · ukiyo-e netsuke\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Netsuke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54482496061733,"sku":"JP-CL-M1129310974","price":4545.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0758\/8829\/6229\/files\/shunga-netsuke-of-athletic-lovers-peony-robe-with-crest-roundel-mammoth-tusk-01.jpg?v=1794582469","url":"https:\/\/japonista.com\/products\/shunga-netsuke-of-athletic-lovers-peony-robe-with-crest-roundel-mammoth-tusk","provider":"Japonista","version":"1.0","type":"link"}