Antique Japanese Ivory Okimono
Grandfather & Son
Celebrating New Year
Unsigned. Circa: Meiji, 1868-1911
h. 5 in.(12.5cm) w. 2.5 in.(6.3cm) d. 2 in.(5cm)
Condition: minor age cracks, o.a. very good

A joyful rendering of the old and the young joined together in identical exuberance, this lively okimono depicts a scene of playful tenderness between an old man and his baby grandson. It is carved from a single piece of cream colored ivory that is fine, dense and well marked with striations and an unctuous polished surface. The work is masterfully made, superlative in characterization and subtle expressiveness. Family resemblance is indelibly stamped on the subjects, who share the same head shape and features--the old man is in the child, and the child is in the old man. As they return home with food and flowers for the table, the boy mischievously tugs on the old man’s hat. Both are laughing, for we see by the mask the child carries that it is a festival day, perhaps New Year’s Day itself, when children are never scolded. The work exemplifies the superb naturism during the Meiji period. It is highly detailed and firmly cut with particular richness in the handling of the child’s face, clothing and cropped hair, the affable bowlegged grandfather with patterned robe and rope sandals. --RW

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