Ian's bought me this tiny ivory netsuke, it's carved from non restricted mammoth ivory, which is exempt from the import ban. The frog is less than 20mm long and the detail of it is extraordinary. This piece is also signed by the sculptor.Its now only 6 days to Christmas an I started to wrap up my presents last night. I realised that I still have a little shopping to do. Therefore I'm going to be very brave and venture into Meadowhall tonight after work.
Wish me luck, it doesn't have the nickname Meadowhell for nothing!!
Mum & Dad have bought me a new netsuke for Xmas, this one is again carved from a tagua (palm oil) nut and is in the shape of a Japanese god. The god is Daikokuten and is carrying a mallet, which is a Japanese symbol of prosperity. 
I've started to collect Netsuke (pronounced Net-ski). To explain what a netsuke is, is probably best left to the experts so click here for the Wikipedia explanation.
It's carved from a tagua (palm oil) nut and is approx 3.5cm in size. The holes underneath are where it would be attached to the cord of the inro. It is also signed by the sculptor. I have no idea of it's age.
This weekend Ian and I went to Chester to meet up with one of his clients for a meal, it's a ritual we've done for a couple of years, Ian spends all night talking shop and I bitch with his clients wife about what all the other women are wearing..It's usually quite good fun. We spent most of the day on Saturday shopping in Chester, a place I'd never been to before. What a suprise it's really quite nice.
On the Sunday morning as we were leaving the hotel I noticed a sign for an antiques fair which was being held in one of the hotel's function rooms. I mentioned it to Ian who naturally wanted to have a walk round.
While we were browsing the stalls, I spotted a piece of netsuke, which was a small sculpture of a cicada sat on a piece of bamboo, netsuke are small carved ornaments from Japan and were traditionally worn on a cord hanging from the belt or Sagimono (i think) of the kimono before western clothes were adopted. The piece I'd spotted was carved out of some form of wood, but often they are carved from ivory.
I've been interested in netsuke for years and have often seen them on sale for huge sums of money in America, but I'd never thought of buying one of my own. I asked the woman running the stall how much she wanted for it, I don't really think she knew what it was, she only asked for £20. Ian, knowing that I'd always wanted to start collecting netsuke, offered to buy me it. I obviously said yes. So now I'm the proud owner of my very first netsuke. Pictures to follow!!!
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