Japan, early 18th century

Boldly carved as a recumbent siniu with the legs drawn in and long neck raised high, a small monkey seated on its back and playing with its beard, their features well detailed and heightened with sumi (ink). Himotoshi to the body on one side and the underside.

HEIGHT 5 cm

Condition: Good condition with old wear and minor natural age cracks. Fine, honey-brown patina.
Provenance: French private collection.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a siniu with a monkey, dated late 18th century, illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 327, no. 1000.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related ivory seal netsuke, carved with a siniu in a similar posture, dated late 18th century, at Christie’s London in Japanese Ceramics & Works of Art on 8 November 2007, lot 7 (sold for 6,875 GBP).

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.