A LARGE WOOD MASK NETSUKE OF USOFUKIUnsigned Japan, 19th centuryWell carved with an amusing expression, the elongated lips puckered in a whistle and twisted to one side, the wrinkles deeply carved and accentuated by skillful staining, one eye narrowed, both with pupils inlaid in dark horn, the ears pierced, the forehead with a prominent circular bump. The reverse deeply incised with a kakihan (artist’s cursive monogram) below the vertically pierced himotoshi bar.HEIGHT 7.1 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear, the reverse with few light scratches, tiny repair to the edge above the right ear. Provenance: Parisian private collection. European collection P. Jacquesson, acquired from the above in May 2002.Usofuki (or Usobuki) is a Kyogen mask type which is not well standardized, but easily identifiable by the pursed or puckered lips, lending the mask (and the actor wearing it) a highly comical expression. The noun usobuki or usofuki is a gerund of the verb usobuku, which has many meanings: exhale sharply, whistle, hum, intone, howl or bay, pretend ignorance, and brag. A highly regarded ethnographer and linguist, the late Shinobu Orikuchi assigned a much earlier meaning to usobuku: taunt, oppose, and rebel. He specifically interpreted the pursed lips of old indigenous masks as signifying imminent speech, as the expression of seirei determined to speak out in defiance but constrained by the consequences of thereby acknowledging the authority of the kami.