JAPAN 1900'S PERIOD OKIMONO EROTIC SHUNGA POLYCHROMATE SCULPTURE CARVING SIGNED
A OKIMONO SHUNGA EROTIC CARVING FROM JAPAN.
A BEAUTIFUL CARVED SCULPTURAL OKIMONO PIECE MADE DURING THE PERIODS OF THE TAISHO (1912-1926) AND THE EARLY YEARS OF SHOWA (1926-1989) IN THE IMPERIAL JAPAN. IT IS CARVED WITH IMPECCABLE THREE-DIMENSIONAL DETAILS AND POLYCHROMATED WITH BLACK, RED AND GREENISH COLORED INKS.
SHUNGA (春画) IS A TYPE OF JAPANESE EROTIC ART TYPICALLY EXECUTED AS A KIND OF UKIYO-E, OFTEN IN WOODBLOOK PRINT FORMAT. WHILE RARE, THERE ARE ALSO EXTANT EROTIC PAINTED HANDSCROLLS WHICH PREDATE UKIYO-E. TRANSLATED LITERALLY, THE JAPANESE WORD SHUNGA MEANS PICTURE OF SPRING; "SPRING" IS A COMMON EUPHEMISM FOR SEX.
THE UKIYO-E MOVEMENT AS A WHOLE SOUGHT TO EXPRESS AN IDEALISATION OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN LIFE AND APPEAL TO THE NEW CHONIN CLASS. FOLLOWING THE AESTHETICS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, EDO-PERIOD SHUNGA VARIED WIDELY IN ITS DEPICTIONS OF SEXUALITY. AS A SUBSET OF UKIYO-E IT WAS ENJOYED BY ALL SOCIAL GROUPS IN THE EDO PERIOD, DESPITE BEING OUT OF FAVOUR WITH THE SHOGUNATE. MOST UKIYO-E ARTISTS MADE SHUNGA AT SOME POINT IN THEIR CAREERS
THIS PIECE IS PRETTY LARGE WITH SUBSTANTIAL SIZE AND WEIGHT. HAVE A TOTAL WEIGHT OF 150.3 Grams AND A MEASURES OF 2.21 BY 3.12 BY 3.05 Inches (56.1 x 79.24 x 79.25 mm).
SIGNED WITH THE MAKER'S SQUARED CARTOUCHE IN RED INK.
NOTE: OKIMONO (置物, OKI-MONO) IS A JAPANESE TERM MEANING "ORNAMENT FOR DISPLAY; OBJET D'ART; DECORATIVE OBJECT", TYPICALLY DISPLAYED IN A TOKONOMA ALCOVE OR BUTSUDAN ALTAR.
IT IS IN PERFECT CONDITION WITH NO CRACKS, STAINS OR RESTORATIONS. EXCELLENT COLOR WITH GORGEOUS AGED PATINA.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
INVENTORY REF: D0000ENNH/.1111
