266 - A FINE LACQUERED SHUNGA MANJU NETSUKE OF OKAME AND SARUTAHIKO NO MIKOTO MASKS

A FINE LACQUERED SHUNGA MANJU NETSUKE OF OKAME AND SARUTAHIKO NO MIKOTO MASKS Signed […] with kakihan Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of compact circular form and carved to either side with boldly expressive masks. One face depicts Sarutahiko no Mikoto, his features lacquered a vivid red in the manner of Negoro lacquer and deliberately rubbed to create an aged appearance. His dramatically arched brows and deeply furrowed features frame glaring gold eyes, while the characteristically long, overtly phallic nose projects prominently across the face. The reverse is carved with the plump, smiling face of Okame, her full cheeks and narrowed eyes enlivened by a provocatively protruding tongue emerging between parted lips. Her silver-lacquered face is accented with red lacquer to the eyelids, lips, and tongue. Large himotoshi underneath, the signature between them largely rubbed away and no longer legible, followed by a kakihan. DIAMETER 3.2 cm Condition: Very good condition with minor typical wear. The signature largely effaced. The pairing of Okame and Sarutahiko is particularly apt for a shunga netsuke. Okame, closely associated in popular Edo-period imagery with Ame-no-Uzume, was traditionally linked with humor, fertility, and erotic playfulness, while Sarutahiko was distinguished by his famously elongated nose. Here, the exaggerated phallic nose and Okame’s conspicuously extended tongue turn the divine pairing into an unmistakably suggestive and humorous erotic conceit.