Japanese Naturalistically Carved Ivory Okimono
A Japanese Naturalistically Carved Ivory Okimono of a Human Skull entwined by a large snake a toad in its jaws another toad to the reverse ‘Memento Mori’
Meiji period / 1868 - 1912
Size: 5.5cm high, 4cm wide, 5cm deep - 2¼ ins high, 1½ ins wide, 2 ins deep
Meiji period / 1868 - 1912
Size: 5.5cm high, 4cm wide, 5cm deep - 2¼ ins high, 1½ ins wide, 2 ins deep
The Buddhist philosophy of the impermanence of life and the non-existence of self were important influences on the development of the Japanese Samurai traditions of self-sacrifice and the ethicality of suicide. The iconic symbol of the human skull as a ‘memento mori’ was to the Japanese an allegory for the vanity of life.
Japanese Naturalistically Carved Ivory Okimono
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