TWO JAPANESE KISERUZUTSU

TWO JAPANESE KISERUZUTSU

EDO OR MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

Both pipe cases of otoshi-zutsu form, the first made of ivory and carved in low relief with an elegant ho-o, the mythical bird with its beak buried in its breast feathers as it stretches its wings, with a branch of paulownia beside it and a further branch above for suspension, a two-character signature for Hakuo in a metal cartouche to the back, possibly for Meigyoku; the other in stag antler and carved with a lone figure travelling under the cover of night, concealing something in their long coat and wearing a tall hat, the moon crescent high above, 20.6cm and 20.4cm. (2)

The figure may be Tokiwa Gozen or Lady Tokiwa (1138-c.1180), a noblewoman from the Heian period often represented fleeing with her young son Minamoto no Yoshitsune (c.1159-89) during the Heiji Rebellion in 1160.

Provenance: an English private collection, Somerset.