By Asahi Gyokuzan (1843-1923), signed GyokuzanJapan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912)Intricately carved, the skeletons with openworked rib cages, deep cavernous eye sockets, and full sets of teeth, one standing and holding a staff suspending loose rings and the other seated, holding on to the staff with one hand and holding an alms bowl in the other. The underside of the lotus base carved with leaf veins and the signature GYOKUZAN.HEIGHT 12.5 cmCondition: Overall good condition with minor wear, the base with two small cracks, one showing remnants of an old repair.Provenance: Belgian private collection.Born in Asakusa, Asahi Gyokuzan together with Ishikawa Komei (1852-1913) were designated Teishitsu gigeiin (Imperial Court Artist) and were two of the most famous and influential carvers in Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Gyokuzan first trained as a Buddhist priest in the late Edo Period, but as a young man he took to a more secular life as a carver. He soon became renowned for his unsettlingly realistic compositions of skulls and skeletons. He eventually achieved a higher distinction than that of his master, Takamura Koun (1852-1934), and his carvings earned him great admiration at the St Louis Exposition of 1904.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 this item can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.