SIGNED ITSUMIN, EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Details

A FINE AND WELL PATINATED WOOD KOGO
Signed Itsumin, Edo Period (19th century)
Modelled as a group of blind men climbing on an elephant, signed Hokyudo Itsumin to [carved by Hokyudo Itsumin]
3¼in. (8.2cm.) long

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Based on the moral not to judge anything based on the impression caused by parts only instead of the whole, the subject depicts a party of blind men feeling an Indian elephant which has just arrived in Japan. They could not agree in their opinion of the nature of the monster; some said it resembled the trunk of a tree, a kind of snake or a dagger, depending on wether they were touching the legs, the trunk or the tusks.

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