Man gathering bamboo shoots
During the late Edo and early Meiji periods, it was very popular as a men's fashion to sport sagemono-tobacco pouch-suspended from a belt or obi. A small ornament called netsuke, attached to the top of the cord, served as a tool for securing the pouch string inside the belt. A great number of netsuke, made of wood, ivory, metal, and ceramic, were produced by skillful craftsmen and became quite fasionable. They provide us a view of the joyful expression of unrestricted craftsmanship at that time.
Ivory
2 3/4 in. (7 cm) x 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm) x 1 in. (2.5 cm), h x w x d
Duncan MacTavish Fuller Memorial Collection
33.355