Netsuke of monkeys and a gourd, carved and openwork ivory, ca. 1850-1900

Netsuke carved in the form of a double gourd with a monkey. The top of this gourd lifts off to reveal a chain, clinging to which are two small monkeys, which can be pulled out and pushed back inside.

The gourd, interlinking chain and monkeys are all carved from a solid piece of ivory. Such work demanded enormous skill and was typical of 19th and 20th-century Chinese workmanship. 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 hard-wearing. It is a typical example of the unashamed quest of late 19th-century netsuke for both novelty and technical excellence, often at the expense of practicality.