Ɏ GYOKUSAI: AN IVORY TUSK BOX AND COVER WITH DARUMA... Lot n° 25

Ɏ GYOKUSAI: AN IVORY TUSK BOX AND COVER WITH DARUMA AND RATS By Gyokusai, signed Gyokusai with a seal Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) Carved from a single tusk of oval shape, the cover with leafy vines and a finial in the form of a rat with a leaf on its back. The sides of the box carved with leafy vines and several rats of different sizes, all with finely incised fur, two crawling over each other and one moving through a ‘crack in the wall’. One side shows Daruma, the patriarch of Zen Buddhism, in a typically satirical depiction, in front of what appears to be a brothel window. His hands and face form an amusing variation of the akanbe gesture, with one hand pulling down both eyelids and the other pushing two fingers up his nose, and one of the rats on the rim of the box is trying to steal his hossu (fly whisk) without him noticing. Japanese artists often parodied revered figures, particularly Daruma, as a means of exposing the hypocrisy of society. During the Edo period, the word Daruma became a slang expression for a courtesan, and darumaya meant a brothel. HEIGHT 11 cm Condition: Excellent condition with minor traces of wear and some natural age cracks. Provenance: Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 28 October 2020, Vienna, lot 226 ( sold for EUR 1,390). German private collection, acquired from the above. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood 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. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.