Sekisai - Daruma netsuke
circa 1860
Awakened from his meditations, Daruma yawns widely, revealing his tongue and teeth in the cavernous mouth. He is wrapped in his kesa, which is lightly decorated with a design of a dragon in clouds. His fly-whisk (hossu) rests by his side, the long hairs forming a curl that encircles one of the himotoshi holes.
Signed: Sekisai with kao
Height: 3.4cm
No other work by this accomplished craftsman is recorded, though Fuld records 3 ivory works by a carver of the same name.
Provenance:
Isobel Sharpe collection
Mark T. Hindson collection
Published:
Davey, N.K., Netsuke, London, 1982 (revised edition), p. 303, no. 920
