Unsigned
Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Published: Barry Davies Oriental Art, Netsuke and Inro from European Collections (London, 2002), no. 100, & Galerie Gemini & Ichimonji Art (Munich, 2004), no. 199.

An ivory netsuke of a sarumawashi (monkey trainer) standing and laughing with large glaring eyes inlaid in black lustrous horn. He is wearing a cap with an incised peach branch, has a food basket tied to his obi in front of him and is holding a taming stick in one hand and the monkey’s paw in the other. The monkey is seated on his shoulder. Himotoshi through the back.

HEIGHT 8.8 cm

Condition: Good, worn condition with expected age cracks and good patina. A section of the taming stick with an old and worndown loss.
Provenance: Barry Davies, then Galerie Gemini & Ichimonji art, then Luxembourg private collection.

This item contains or is made from elephant ivory 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. Please note that in compliance with EU regulation effective January 19th, 2022, all items carved from elephant ivory before 1947 must carry a legal trade permit issued by the Austrian ministry of trade, or any other appropriate authority within the European Union. For this reason, any sale of such item can only be concluded after such permit has been granted. All payments made prior to the issuance of the respective permit will be held in escrow until the application for the permit has been approved. Please note that according to EU regulation it may take up to 3 months until the permit has been granted. In case the permit is declined, or not granted after 3 months, the payment will be returned to the client immediately.