Netsuke of a Tusk with Spider and Poem

Description Exhibitions Provenance Inscription Credit

Description A carved wild boar tusk netsuke with a spider applied in relief. A fern and a long inscription are incised and ink stained in the lines.

Exhibitions

Netsuke: Miniature Sculpture of Japan. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1978.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Transliteration] Michinoku no / Shinobu moji-zuri / Tare yue ni / Midare-some nishi / Ware naranaku ni; [Translation] Ah! why does love distract my thoughts, Disordering my will! I'm like the pattern on the cloth of Michinoku hill, -- All in confusion still.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters

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Creator

Seiyodo Bunshojo (Japanese, 1764-1838) (Artist)

Period

late 18th-mid 19th century (Edo)

Medium

boar tusk ivory
(Ivory & Bone)

Accession Number

71.817

Measurements

H: 4 × W: 1 7/8 × D: 9/16 in. (10.2 × 4.7 × 1.4 cm)

Geographies

Japan, Iwami (Place of Origin)

Location Within Museum

Not On View