Fine old netsuke: Flute playing boy riding on the back of a bull, 19th century

Description

ivory, black pigment, a testament to the carvers’ very precise observation of nature, especially when defining a cowlick between the horns and the flabby, wrinkled skin on the neck and feet, the coat is very finely engraved and now show traces of being worn as well as abrasion marks that are clearly visible on the underside of the net-like grained structure of the ivory, when the tusk is cut into slices, it doesn’t have a normal fastening with two holes but instead has a single cord hole, the cord is fed in from the bottom and then knotted to prevent it sliding back, unsigned (region of Hakata?);
the boy on his ox is a common symbol in the teaching of Zen Buddhism;
“Netsuke” are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th century Japan to serve a practical function.Traditional Japanese garments, robes called “kosode” and “kimono”, had no pockets. However, men who wore them needed a place to store their personal belongings, such as pipes, tobacco, money, seals, or medicines. Their solution was to place such objects in containers (called “sagemono”) hung by cords from the robes’ sashes (“obi”). The containers may have been pouches or small woven baskets, but the most popular were beautifully crafted boxes (“inro”). Whatever the form of the container, the fastener that secured the cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle called “netsuke”.