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A SUPERB IVORY OKIMONO OF A SKULL WITH SNAKE AND LOTUS
奥地利
2023年06月16日 开拍 / 2023年06月14日 截止委托
此拍品禁止/限制出入境
拍品描述
A SUPERB IVORY OKIMONO OF A SKULL WITH SNAKE AND LOTUS

Unsigned
Japan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912)

A morbidly fascinating ivory okimono of netsuke type depicting a skull carved with intricate and anatomically precise detail. A snake with naturalistically carved scales, its body varying in thickness, is coiling around the cranium, emerging from underneath, its head terminating at the top, the glaring eyes inlaid, ready to strike from above. A furled lotus leaf with curved stem is visible underneath. Large central himotoshi to the superbly carved underside.

LENGTH 5.4 cm, HEIGHT 5.2 cm

Condition: Excellent condition. Some tiny nibbling to edges.

The skull, snake, and lotus together represent the Buddhist philosophy of the impermanence of life, which can be summarized as ‘Memento Mori’ (latin for 'remember that you die').

In Japanese Samurai culture, the influence of Zen Buddhist contemplation of death on indigenous culture can be gauged by the following quotation from the classic treatise on samurai ethics, the Hagakure:

“The Way of the Samurai is, morning after morning, the practice of death, considering whether it will be here or be there, imagining the most sightly way of dying, and putting one's mind firmly in death. Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done. There is nothing that one should suppose cannot be done.”

In the annual appreciation of cherry blossom and fall colors, hanami and momijigari, it was philosophized that things are most splendid at the very moment just before their fall, and to aim to live and die in a similar fashion.

Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a skull with two snakes at Zacke, Fine Japanese and Netsuke Art, 22 June 2019, Vienna, lot 341 (sold for 15,168 EUR).

Trade Certificate:The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number 2022/BE01721/CE).



This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.

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价格信息

拍品估价:4,000 - 8,000 欧元 起拍价格:4,000 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

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