Project Description
Shitan wood Box Carved with Masks
All the exterior faces of both parts engraved with a rinzu pattern, the cover with 3 noh masks in high relief
Signed inside the cover: deme taiman saku with kaō. Circa 1900
Length: 9 cm
Though apparently simple, this is one of those Japanese works of art which astounds, as both parts are made from a single piece of wood, hollowed out. There are no joints. The artist (dates unrecorded) is known principally for mask netsuke
Provenance: J.C. Dalgleish and W.W. Winkworth collections
Literature: Meinertzhagen Card Index, p. 41, described in detail but not illustrated
MR4108
