λ A JAPANESE IVORY NETSUKE OF A BEAUTY

MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

Carved as Eguchi no Kimi seated on an elephant, the courtesan reading a love letter inscribed on a long makimono scroll unrolled on her lap, her hair stained black and loosely tied behind her back, wearing long robes and tabi socks, the benevolent-looking pachyderm depicted reclining with its head lowered, signed Tomonobu underneath, 6.9cm.

Kimi was a famous prostitute from the village of Eguchi who after assiduously studying Buddhist scriptures became an incarnation of Fugen Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of Universal Goodness, Virtue and worthiness. See lot 308 for another depiction of this myth.