Ivory Netsuke
Hunter wearing Deer Skin
Type: Katabori Netsuke
Material: Elephant Ivory
Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)
Origin/Maker: Unmarked
Size: 1 1/2" tall (3.81 cm)
Weight: 0.7 oz (21 g)
Provenance:
Collected:
Condition: Loss to one antler. Some age cracks.
Subject: Enshi (in Chinese Tan Zi), is one of the twenty-four paragons of filial piety, a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368). Enshi's parents had an eye ailment that could only be cured by deer's milk. His family was too poor to buy the expensive milk, so Enshi disguised himself like a deer in order to get milk directly from does in the herd near his home. One day as Tan Zi was playing amid the deers, the animals suddenly ran for the trees, leaving Tan Zi alone in the middle of the meadow. He looked towards the path and saw why the deer had fled. Hunters, bow in hand, stood in the shade, prepared to shoot some venison. Just in time he stood up (the moment depicted in the netsuke) and explained to them his story and the hunters escorted him safely back home.
Location:
Material: Elephant Ivory
Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)
Origin/Maker: Unmarked
Size: 1 1/2" tall (3.81 cm)
Weight: 0.7 oz (21 g)
Provenance:
Collected:
Condition: Loss to one antler. Some age cracks.
Subject: Enshi (in Chinese Tan Zi), is one of the twenty-four paragons of filial piety, a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368). Enshi's parents had an eye ailment that could only be cured by deer's milk. His family was too poor to buy the expensive milk, so Enshi disguised himself like a deer in order to get milk directly from does in the herd near his home. One day as Tan Zi was playing amid the deers, the animals suddenly ran for the trees, leaving Tan Zi alone in the middle of the meadow. He looked towards the path and saw why the deer had fled. Hunters, bow in hand, stood in the shade, prepared to shoot some venison. Just in time he stood up (the moment depicted in the netsuke) and explained to them his story and the hunters escorted him safely back home.
Location:
