Japan, 1930s
Ivory
This item can only be delivered to an address within the EU
Fine chiseling and carving
Artist signature on fan
Height: 30 cm
Excellent condition

This Japanese Okimono is to be dated around 1930 or slightly later. It shows a beautiful Geisha with elaborately pinned-up hair. She is dressed in a traditional Kimono and poses very gracefully. Her left foot, on which she wears a Geta sandal, is slightly raised. She is holding a fan in her right hand and a parasol in her left.

The figure is especially finely carved and richly decorated with ornaments, gorgeous peonies and a branch of cherry blossoms. It is striking that even the underside of the Okimono is adorned with a floral motif. The high quality of the elaborate carving is especially clear in the structural differences between the different materials like textiles and hair. The figure is polychrome, predominantly coloured in brown tones. The fan displays calligraphic characters and seal marks.

The Okimono itself is in excellent condition and carved out of one single piece of ivory, while the parasol is detachable and compound.

Okimono

The literal translation of the word “Okimono“ is “put thing”, meaning “object for display”. The term denotes Japanese art carvings, which developed in the 19th century out of Netsuke craft. The reason for this was an incisive change in Asian everyday fashion. European clothing became chic and invariably superseded the Kimono, to which Netsuke were worn. The now unemployed Netsuke artists began to make larger objects, which were very popular abroad as well.

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