Netsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court Motifs

Netsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court Motifs

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This realistic design of autumn ivy, a common sight in Japan, is a motif that recalls the episode in Tales of lse (chapt. 9), in which the poet, traveling to the east along a dark and narrow route overgrown with ivy on Mount Utsu, crosses paths with a wandering ascetic returning to the capital to whom he entrusts a poem of love. The ivory netsuke represents a love letter on paper decorated with courtly designs of paulownia and symbols for the chapters of Genji used in incense games

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Netsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court MotifsNetsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court MotifsNetsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court MotifsNetsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court MotifsNetsuke Carved in Shape of Folded Letter on Paper Decorated with Court Motifs

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.