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A boxwood netsuke depicting the poetess Ono no Komachi seated on a sotoba (wooden funerary stela).
The figure is portrayed in old age, wearing simple and worn garments that emphasize her humble condition. She holds a kasa (straw hat) and a basket, while the slightly bent posture and the careful rendering of the wood grain convey a strong sense of the passage of time.
Signed beneath the base.
The subject refers to the famous N? play Sotoba Komachi, in which the poetess, once celebrated for her beauty, appears aged and impoverished, seated upon a Buddhist stela. Questioned by two monks, she reveals her identity and expresses a profound spiritual awareness, embodying the theme of the transience of beauty.
Period: Edo period, 19th century
Dimensions: 3.5 × 4 × 1.6 cm
Condition: Excellent condition.
