Featured Is this a netsuke?

I like the thin cracks down it's back & front ....that have darkened....
I am sure that it's Ivory !

 

What are the "lines" on the back of the head,carved or natural?If it were ivory schreger lines would be on the top of the head and bottom of the feet

 

Nice find Lucille.

 

A chinese part of a "pendant" as on the picture before, and ivory without any doubt, often pictures doesn't permit a so good identification but here especially on the back of the head you see the growing lines that are impossible to imitate so good, on french "ivoirine" they are lines in the media but perfectly regular and not in the good position, here all is as it do in a good material identification.

 

Thank you Lecollectionneaur.

Big question now for everyone... I can't really sell this due to the ivory, right?

 

@ Lucille.b

It depends on where you live...cannot be sold across state lines and I think there are now 8 states you can't sell within for the USA.

 

Thank you, Holly.

 

Yes, and the age is too difficult to proove, I don't know US laws but in Europe it's only in the land and between citizens, not for trade.

 

In the EU it is ok for private people between EU countries as well. For professional trade you need certificates of age, including official approval. Getting it appraised for such a certificate often costs more than the item itself.

 

https://www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/ivory-ban-questions-and-answers.html

 

IOW where I live we can give it away but not sell it. I bought some in a rummage sale last year; the sellers hadn't a clue what it was. Fortunately - otherwise two very nice little ivory sculptures would have landed in the trash. Old ivory needs all sorts of documentation to even carry a musical instrument over international borders without some security jobbie trying to confiscate it.

 

When you have ivory or composed items with ivory which have some value, the best thing to do if you want to sell them is to speak with big auction houses, if it's interesting they make what necessary, sometimes you have to ask yourself for a CITES certificate, that cost about 300Sfr in Switzerland.

 

unfortunately....most ivory items are small.....and not of great value.

 

It wouldn't work where I am - ivory in my part of the USA cannot be sold. Period. It can be owned but not sold.

 

My father went to Toyko, Japan from Okinawa sometime during the occupation in 1945 and again to the same family in July 1958 from Shima, Alaska. At that time he was working on the Al-Can highway and the family made a shrine for my dad to bestow blessings on my parent's for the upcoming birth of my sister their 2nd child. Here is a photo of the shrine. Dad came home with many gifts for mother from the family, of which were two elegant kimono with the obi belts, butterfly cape, set of shrine dolls, various dishes, and 3 netsukes which look very much like yours and do have the 3 holes for stringing the sash cords to belted garment and the netsuke medicine box, tobacco or pipe to the sash of the garments. My father at that time did smoke, and he did come back with a medicine box. I believe dads were ivory, mom is turning 99 this month and could not recall for sure what they were made of, but thought ivory. One of my sisters has them now. Too bad the photo does not show them. It does show his uniform, mess kit, shrine flowers, incense, table decor and saki for celebrating a safe trip, upcoming birth and hopes for a boy. The sash around his uniform shirt mom thinks is the obi that wrapped through the garment with cording. I only wore it once, and it was too complicated for my young hands to handle stringing it together. My parents had another girl but eventually, we became a family of 6 girls and 1 boy.
.

 

Thank you for posting, Slykitty. That is a great story!

 

The only thing that bothers me a bit, is the inside legs of your figurine up to the crotch. It looks like there is a seam - but is that just dirt or an optical illusion?

 

maybe just a crack line...with some dirt......maybe a repair.....
stop looking there.....

 

I've read some netsukes were carved from two pieces of ivory then attached (glued) together such as with the manjū-netsuke which looks like a Japanese confectionary. There is good information on the types and materials used for the netsuke here if you haven't seen it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netsuke. You may be able to get more information from the International Netsuke Society... https://www.netsuke.org/

 

You're right about two pieces glued together, but this is what they mean, the part that the cord passes through was made separately, and attached to the manju part: