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Farmer with Large Melon

Farmer with Large Melon

early 19th century

Ninkan

Japanese, early 19th century

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.
Wood
1 3/4 x 7/8 in. (4.4 x 2.2 cm)
L.: 1 7/16 in.
Duncan MacTavish Fuller Memorial Collection
33.365
location
Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Spring and Summer in Japan,
February 28, 2002 - October 13, 2002

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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