Japan, 19th century

The shibuichi plate depicting one of the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, in which the boy hero Yoko (Yang Xiang in Chinese) wrestles a large ferocious tiger to save his father’s life, with highlights in shakudo and gold, set into an ivory bowl.

DIAMETER 4.2 cm

Condition: Good condition with minor wear, natural age cracks.
Provenance: German private collection.

Literature comparison:
The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars is a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing in China during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). The text was extremely influential in the medieval Far East and was used to teach Confucian moral values. The story depicted in this netsuke has also been depicted in various color woodblock prints, including one by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2007.49.277, and sold by Ronin Gallery, New York.

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.