Netsuke
Artist
Maker unknown
(Japanese)
Date1850-1860
MediumCarved ivory
DimensionsOverall: 1 1/2 x 1 1/4in. (3.8 x 3.2cm)
ClassificationsPERSONAL ARTIFACTS
Credit LineGift of Neilson and Joseph Rudd in memory of Thomas Brown Rudd and Helen Neilson Rudd
Terms
Object number66.38
DescriptionKatabori style carved ivory netsuke; carving depicts five pomegranates.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 TextThe pomegranate is a focal symbol in the legend and lore of many different cultures. The Japanese Buddhists regarded pomegranates as one of the three blessed fruits. According to legend, Buddha cured a goddess name Kishimojin also known as Karieteimo, from eating children by giving her a pomegranate. Like the fruit, she became the symbol of fertility. Japanese Buddhist women pray to this goddess of pomegranate to conceive a child. This netsuke depicted here could have belonged to a childless man with the hopes that the depiction of the pomegranate hanging from his obi would bring fecundity to his household.
