Netsuke
Artist
Maker unknown
(Japanese)
Date19th Century
MediumCarved horn
DimensionsOverall: 1 15/16 × 1 1/8 × 11/16in. (4.9 × 2.9 × 1.7cm)
ClassificationsPERSONAL ARTIFACTS
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Hope Fullerton Zarensky
Terms
Object number74.173
DescriptionKatabori style horn carved netsuke; depicts oyster with decorative carving on lower shell.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextNetsuke were invented in seventeenth century Japan as a type of decorative fastener. Japanese men used netsuke to suspend various pouches and containers from their obi sashes by a silk cord. Netsuke had to be small and not too heavy, yet bulky enough to do the job. They needed to be compact with no sharp protruding edges, yet also strong and hardwearing. Above all, they had to have the means by which to attach a cord. Netsuke were made in a variety of forms, the most widely appreciated being the katabori (shape carving), a three-dimensional carving, such as this one in the form of a oyster.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, netsuke made of several types of horn were supposed to have medicinal value as well as serving the specific purpose of all netsuke. Scrapings of deer horn were often used to treat snake bites. The material, commonly referred to as unicorn horn, was actually the jawbone of a certain species of whale and was believed to be useful in curing fevers; infusions were made of powder scraped from the horn or bone and drunk by the feverish patient. Rough uncarved areas were deliberately left on such horn netsuke, such as this example, so that scraping could be made without spoiling the general design.
