Rat Coiled, top

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This whimsical netsuke depicts the first animal in the Japanese zodiac: the rat (nezumi). In both folklore and popular culture, the rat symbolizes good fortune and industriousness, and is therefore associated with winter, due to its ability to find food when it is scarce. The spherical shape of this netsuke makes it pleasing to roll in one’s hand, but also serves as a reminder of the rat’s playfulness and agility. Its roundness conspicuously reveals the object’s two holes (himotoshi) on its side and indicates that the rat would have hung upside down on its cord on the wearer’s waist. This aspect of Rat Coiled, along with the fact that the animal’s paw partially conceals its face, helps to convey the rat’s cheeky spirit.— Nathan J. Timpano

Rat Coiled, 17th – 18th century. Ivory, Unsigned, 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 1 ½ in. Collection of Dr. Joseph and Elena Kurstin.