AN UNUSUAL WOOD NETSUKE OF SHOKI THE DEMON QUELLER WITH OJIME IN THE FORM OF AN ONI
Wood netsuke with ojimeJapan19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)A circular well-shaped base showing the seal-script characters 泉 神 (“Divine Well”) on the front. Shoki, the demon hunter famous across East Asia is leaning over the well and grimly stares into the abyss, into which an oni (demon) has escaped. The oni is a separate, very small carving meant to be attached to a short piece of string to serve as an ojime. Shoki has a full beard and is wearing a Chinese cap, robe and armor, with a ken sword in one hand. Shoki is of Chinese descent and known as Zhong Kui there; he was made Imperial demon hunter by the Chinese emperor. Signed clearly but illegibly in a reserve on the underside.HEIGHT 3.4 CM, WIDTH 3.8 CM, HEIGHT OF OJIME 1.5 CMCondition: Good condition, very minor restoration to the bridge between his robes and the wellProvenance: German private collectionLiterature: An almost identical work by Rakumin is illustrated in ‘Netsuke & Inro Artists and how to read their signatures’ by George Lazarnick, 1981, page 473.