By Asahi Gyokuzan (1843-1923), signed Asahi GyokuzanJapan, Tokyo, Meiji (1868-1912)Finely carved and stained, the skeleton standing with one leg atop a giant separately carved toad with warty skin and large eyes with dark inlaid pupils, its skull cracked in several places and with cavernous eye sockets and a full set of teeth, suggesting a forced smile as it buckles under the weight of the rather fierce-looking monkey clambering on its back, wearing a shirt and fletching its teeth as it holds on to the rope around the skeleton’s neck. The skeleton is holding a globular koro (incense burner) in one hand and a large furled lotus leaf hangs from its pelvis. The underside signed ASAHI GYOKUZAN.HEIGHT 14 cmCondition: Good condition with minor wear and old repairs.Provenance: Belgian private collection.Born in Asakusa, Asahi Gyokuzan together with Ishikawa Komei (1852-1913) were designated Teishitsu gigeiin (Imperial Court Artist) and were two of the most famous and influential carvers in Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Gyokuzan first trained as a Buddhist priest in the late Edo Period, but as a young man he took to a more secular life as a carver. He soon became renowned for his unsettlingly realistic compositions of skulls and skeletons. He eventually achieved a higher distinction than that of his master, Takamura Koun (1852-1934), and his carvings earned him great admiration at the St Louis Exposition of 1904.This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore this item can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.