Lot 885 D‡α

A large ivory manju. 19th century

Signed in an oval reserve: Shunmei (Haruaki)
Carved in deep sunken relief, the warrior monk Benkei thrusting his lance (naginata) into the head of the carp. The carp’s skin depicted with fine stipplings. The Three Friends of Winter - plum blossom, bamboo leaves and pine clusters (shochikubai) – engraved to the reverse. Crack.

Benkei is often depicted in this fight with the carp not as a grown man, but as a child named Oniwaka who slits open the stomach of the killed carp to find the remains of his mother.
Diameter 7.2 cm