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A finely carved Japanese ivory okimono from the Meiji period depicting a dog together with a puppy.
The compact composition places the two animals in close interaction, giving the carving a natural and intimate character. Their bodies, posture and facial details are worked to create a lively miniature study of animal behaviour.
The okimono is signed on the base and is accompanied by CITES documentation.
Dimensions: approximately 5 × 5 × 3.5 cm.
The central subject is a dog accompanied by a puppy, arranged as a compact sculptural group.
Rather than treating the animals as isolated figures, the composition emphasises their physical proximity and interaction, creating a sense of movement and relationship within a very small format.
Animal subjects were widely represented in Japanese decorative arts and miniature sculpture, where artists could combine close observation of form with expressive gestures and carefully balanced compositions.
The okimono is carved from ivory, a material historically used in Japanese miniature sculpture because of its fine grain and ability to retain very small details.
This made ivory particularly suitable for compact figural carvings in which facial features, fur, limbs and subtle changes in surface could be modelled within a limited space.
In this example, the material supports the close modelling of the two animals while preserving the compact three-dimensional character of the group.
An okimono is a Japanese decorative object intended primarily for display.
Unlike netsuke, which developed as functional toggles associated with objects suspended from the obi, okimono were created principally as independent sculptures to be appreciated visually.
They could depict people, animals, mythological figures, scenes from daily life and a wide variety of other subjects.
During the 19th century, Japanese artists produced increasingly sophisticated miniature and small-scale carvings intended both for domestic appreciation and for the expanding international market for Japanese decorative arts.
This carving dates to the Meiji period, a major era for Japanese decorative arts and export sculpture.
Artists working during this period continued established Japanese carving traditions while also responding to growing international interest in highly detailed Japanese craftsmanship.
Small-scale animal carvings were particularly effective vehicles for demonstrating technical precision, naturalistic observation and expressive modelling.
The okimono bears a signature on the base.
No specific reading or attribution of the signature is proposed here, so the piece is described simply as signed rather than assigned to a particular artist or workshop.
The presence of the signature nevertheless forms an important part of the object and its documentation.
The piece is accompanied by CITES documentation relating to the ivory material.
Such documentation is important for regulated historic materials and should be retained together with the object as part of its provenance and accompanying records.
Regulations concerning ivory vary by jurisdiction, so any future transport, import, export or resale should be considered in accordance with the applicable local rules.
This okimono combines several features of interest to collectors of Japanese miniature sculpture: a naturalistic animal subject, Meiji-period workmanship, ivory carving, a compact two-figure composition and a signature on the base.
The close relationship between the dog and puppy gives the carving an especially engaging character, while the small dimensions concentrate the composition into a balanced sculptural group.
A charming Meiji-period ivory okimono depicting a dog and puppy, signed on the base and accompanied by CITES documentation. Its compact naturalistic composition and expressive interaction between the two animals make it an appealing example of 19th-century Japanese miniature sculpture.
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Certificate of authenticity included.
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