Lot 156
156
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME
1 More
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME
4 More
Property from an Important European Private Collection
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME

EDO PERIOD (18TH-19TH CENTURY), SIGNED TAMETAKA TO

Details
A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF KIYOHIME
EDO PERIOD (18TH-19TH CENTURY), SIGNED TAMETAKA TO
Of Kiyohime turning into a serpent, her tail coiled around the bell of Dojoji temple; incised signature on underside
2 in. (5.1 cm.) high
Provenance
Sotheby's, London, 9 June 1971, lot 75

Brought to you by

Takaaki Murakami (村上高明)
Takaaki Murakami (村上高明) Vice President, Specialist and Head of Department | Korean Art

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

+1 212 636 2160

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

Sign in
View condition report

Lot Essay

One day while making pilgrimage to the Kumano Shrine, a priest named Anchin lodges in a shoen manor, where the steward’s daughter, the beautiful Kiyohime, falls in love with him. Rejecting her advances with a false promise to return, the priest continues on. When she realizes his deceit, Kiyohime pursues him in a rage; upon seeing that Anchin was escaping her in a ferryman’s boat, Kiyohime’s rage transforms her into a dragon, or in some depictions a snake. Anchin flees into the nearby Dōjo-ji temple, where the priests hid him within the bonsho (hanging bell) of the temple. Soon, Kiyohime finds him and coils around the bell, banging on it several times with the hammer she is represented with in this netsuke. Ultimately, she melts the bell with Anchin inside, killing him.

More from Japanese and Korean Art

View All
View All