19th Century Japanese Boxwood Okimono Of A Rat In A Barrel

~ 19th Century Japanese Boxwood Okimono Of A Rat In A Barrel ~

The intricately carved piece in a deep honey brown boxwood depicts a rat, curled up, in a barrel of corn on the cob. It is signed to the underside in a mother of pearl button.

An okimono is a Japanese term meaning “ornament for display; objet d’art; decorative object”, typically displayed in a tokonoma alcove or butsudan altar.

~ Condition ~

The okimono is in good order apart from a shrinkage split to the side of the barrel, opposite the rat.

~ Dimensions ~

The barrel is 3.5 cm (1.5 inches) in diameter.

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