Netsuke: Fox priest

Artistpossibly attributed to Eiraku Tokuzen (Japanese, 1853-1909)

Dateearly 19th century

DimensionsH: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm)

Mediumpainted earthenware

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Richard R. Silverman

Object number

2009.144

Not on View

DescriptionKyoto ware.

Label TextAnimals composed of intertwined human or animal figures were a popular subject in Indian miniature painting. These fantastical images may have alluded to the Hindu belief in the transmigration of souls—the reincarnated soul coming back again and again to inhabit both human and animal bodies.

The image is painted on wasli, a type of paper invented by Indian miniature painters in which several sheets are glued together in layers and then polished to create a shiny, smooth surface for the paint.

Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Life in Miniature: Ceramic Netsuke from the Silverman Collection, October 1, 2010 - February 27, 2011, repr. (col.) Checklist, p. 66 and (det.) p. 73, (catalog title: Adornment in Clay: Ceramic Netsuke from the Richard R. Silverman Collection).