A JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE OF A COCKEREL

A JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE OF A COCKEREL

MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

The bird depicted resting on a war drum, its eyes and the drum studs inlaid with minute black beads, the chicken's feathers and the surface of the instrument realistically carved, with a single character inscribed to the top, possibly for Yoshi, and a seven-character inscription underneath, 3.2cm.

Provenance: an American private collection, purchased 1990s-2010s.

The characters on the drum refer to writings by the Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei (699-759). In this verse, he longs for a peaceful time when the moss would grow undisturbed on the forest floor, and the muffled beating of the drum wouldn't startle the birds. In Japanese lore, a chicken on a drum is a symbol of peace as a war drum fallen into disuse, becomes a perch for a cockerel.