Netsuke, ivory. Japan, 19th cent.
A woman, two men and a little monkey in a boat with a pointed bow, a barge. One of the men is a sarumawashi, a monkey tamer. His costumed monkey wants to escape and he catches it just in time by tugging on its coat. The woman next to him tries not to laugh ... Humorous and lively depiction, waves beneath the flat boat floor, bordered himotoshi and signature TOMO-CHIKA 友 新. Good patina and preservation. The School of Tomochika was one of the most important in Edo-Tokyo.
LENGTH 5,6 CM
From an old German collection