Ivory netsuke, Japan, 1701-1900

This ivory netsuke was made in Japan. It is in the form of a rabbit-like creature grinding with a mortar and pestle. This imagery almost certainly refers to the ‘Hare in the Moon’, a messenger of the moon deity. The creature mixes the elixir of immortality with his mortar and pestle. Netsuke are toggle-like ornaments. They hang objects such as medicine boxes or tobacco pouches from the sash of a k…