Mokugyo
is a hollow wooden gong used in Buddhist chants. Here the
netsuke depicts a young monk adrift from his duty, appeares
to be sitting with eyes closed, sleeping away on top of a
disproportionally large mokugyo. The boy is dressed in finely
scrimshawed monk robes, with body leaning backward and partially
supported with both hands.
The netsuke is well conceived. Equally remarkable is
the technical mastery that carves around zones of varying
tones of translucent stripes in an ivory material, which is
characteristically consistent with that of walrus ivory. Considering
that the material may well be the contributing factor in the
netsuke's mint condition; nevertheless, the finesse of its
artistry testifies to the high estimation in which it was
held, thus its careful preservation by its former owners.
The
artist signature "Masatomo" is boldly signed near the base
center. According to the Netsuke Handbook of Ueda Reikichi,
Masatomo came from Ise, lived in the 19th century. He was
known to have carved netsuke figures of hermits, animals and
insects.
