A RARE IVORY NETSUKE OF KINTARO ON A BEAR

Kintaro is a Japanese folk hero, the son of a high-ranking officer who was lost in the mountains. He was raised by an athletic yama-uba (“mountain witch”) and grew so strong that he wrestled with bears. This netsuke shows him riding such a bear, holding his characteristic attribute, a large hatchet, in one hand. Kintaro, often translated as “Golden Boy”, is half-naked and rather small. The bear with a charmingly ferocious expression shows an incised fur pattern, inlaid eyes and the himotoshi are in his side.

Category:
Netsuke
Subcategory:
-
Subject:
Mythological
Material:
Ivory
Age/Country:
19th Century
Artist:
-
Provenance/Owner:
-
Signed:
unsigned
Type:
Katabori
Height:
39mm mm
Width:
mm
Depth:
mm
ID number:

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