Description
Boxwood (tsuge) netsuke by Deme Uman 出目右満 – No mask – Japan – 18th century (Mid Edo period)
Size = 54mm × 42mm.
Weight =21.08g
Netsuke “根付” are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function. Netsuke emerged as a practical solution to dressing in 17th-century Japan. ‘Men’s kimonos didn’t have sewn-up sleeves ? they were completely open, front and back, and that meant that the sleeves couldn’t be used as a pocket, as they could in women’s kimonos,’ Goodall explains.
To carry things suchas tobacco, medicine or other necessities, men hung stylish inro and other vessels from cords looped under and behind the wide sashes that held their kimonos in place. At the other end of those cords, men fastened small, ornamental objects as counterweights; those objects evolved into netsuke.
The characters “出目右満” read Deme Uman, a famous Japanese carver and sculptor in mid Edo period.
“Tsuge” is an evergreen shrub or small tree. The leaves are bright green, 10?25 millimetres (0.39?0.98 in) long, oval with a rounded or notched tip.
Please have a look at the photos for a better impression.
