A SMALL AND FINE IVORY NETSUKE OF GAMA SENNIN WITH TOAD
Ivory netsukeJapan, Kyoto19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)The sennin (immortal hermit) is leaning on a long bamboo cane and wandering along. He is wearing the leaf garment characteristic of the sennin and no shoes, with long hair and a three-legged toad, or gama, on his shoulder. The single hind leg is particularly long and is the main characteristic of the Chan Chu, “Three-legged Money Toad”, who taught the secret of immortality to the fabled Chinese alchemist Liu Hai, upon whom gama sennin is based. Due to the small size this netsuke could have likely functioned as a children’s netsuke.HEIGHT 4.1 CM, WIDTH 2 CMCondition: Excellent condition with a good patinaProvenance: German private collection