Vintage Rare Chinese Carved Bone and Ink Box, Wise Monkey Motif. A hand carved Trinket or Pill Box made of bone and decorated with ink and hidden hardware lift top. Makes a wonderful gift or addition to your Chinoiserie collection.
The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are
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Mizaru, who sees no evil, covering his eyes
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Kikazaru, who hears no evil, covering his ears, and
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Iwazaru, who speaks no evil, covering his mouth.
DIMENSIONS: 3” diameter x 1 1/2” high x 1 1/2”wide
ORIGIN: Made in China for export mid to late 20th century
MATERIALS: Bone, Tusk, likely Ox or Cow bone collected by farming communities
FACTS & HISTORY: Chinese have over 5,000 years of history, containing inestimable history and culture of all the arts. So craft arts have a long and rich tradition to be celebrated. In the 18th and 19th century there was high demand from the United States, crafts people used their ancient technics to create beautiful craft arts with jade, jewelry and silver bone carving and stone artifacts specifically for export. The pieces all rich is Chinese culture, shared symbols of happiness, luck and wealth. Making them beautiful, meaningful objects to collect and very lovely gifts to give! Each piece is rare and unique, an exquisitely beautiful treasure with incredible workmanship.
In the beginning of 21st century these pieces are experiencing a tremendous resurgence in popularity after a few decades of waning interest. This phenomena has been coined Grand millennial decor, because the millennials comb through their mother's and grandmother's cast offs and mix them with modern trends to create a new decor style. Many pieces have been eagerly purchased or collected by the next generation who see their value, appreciate their quality and craftsmanship. To young collectors what's old is new again and it's the ultimate recycling!
