Japanese carved ivory netsuke, depicting a mermaid…
click the photo to enlarge
Japanese carved ivory netsuke, depicting a mermaid breastfeeding child, signature to back, height 5 cm

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.

    Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.

    In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.

    In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.

    The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.

    Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

A blanc de chine lion dog, Qing Dynasty, 17th/18th century, with a brocade ball under foot, height 15 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Japanese ivory netsuke. Sage, signed. Provenance: Private Collection, ACT. Height 5 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A carved soapstone figure of a Luohan Qing dynasty, 18th/19th century seated holding a large bell in his left hand, the right resting on his raised right knee, wearing a wide sleeved loosely draped robe with incised border and floral motifs, his shaven hea

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Japanese ivory netsuke. Fisherman figure. Signed to base. Height 6 cm. W31g

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.