Description
19th Century Japanese Carved Boxwood Toad Netsuke. 2 1/8" long x 1 1/8" wide,<br>very well carved with no damage, natural cracks in wood. Signed as shown.<br><br><br><br>A netsuke (根付, [netsɯ̥ke]) is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century<br>Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an inrō box,<br>netsuke later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship.<br>Traditionally, Japanese clothing – first the kosode and its later evolution, the<br>kimono – did not have pockets. Though the sleeves of the kimono could be used to<br>store small items, the men who wore kimono needed a larger and stronger<br>container in which to store personal belongings, such as s, , money and seals,<br>resulting in the development of containers known as sagemono, which were hung by<br>cords from the robes' sashes (obi). These containers may have been pouches or<br>small woven baskets, but the most popular were crafted boxes (inrō) held shut by<br>ojime, sliding beads on cords. Whatever the form of the container, the fastener<br>which secured the cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle<br>called a netsuke. Netsuke, like inrō and ojime, evolved over time from being<br>strictly utilitarian into objects of great artistic merit and an expression of<br>extraordinary craftsmanship. Netsuke production was most popular during the Edo<br>period (1603–1867). Netsuke and inrō declined as Japanese clothes were gradually<br>westernized from the Meiji period (1868–1912). Because of their popularity<br>amongst Western collectors at the time, some of the greatest collections are now<br>found outside of Japan
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