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Double Sided Netsuke Featuring a Woman and a Demon

Double Sided Netsuke Featuring a Woman and a Demon

Artist/Maker
Date19th century
MediumPorcelain
DimensionsOverall: 1 5/8 × 1 1/4 × 1 1/2 in. (4.1 × 3.2 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineGift from the collection of Brondy Shanker
Object number2016.43.103
Status
On view
More Information
This netsuke shows a woman’s face on one side and a demon’s face on the other, a clever way of evoking tales of demons disguised as women. But the tiny sculpture may also reflect several negative tropes about women: that they are two-faced, or that all women have a demonic side. Is this work, and the fox netsuke in the work above, intended as a warning about the dangers of alluring women?
ProvenanceBernice "Brondy" Shanker [1928-2016], Beechwood, OH; Bernice J. Shanker Living Trust, Beachwood, OH; by gift 2016 to Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OHExhibition History
Interrogating Beauties
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 9, 2021 - August 13, 2021 )
Trickster Spirits: Demons, Foxes, and Tengu in Japanese Folklore
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 31, 2025 - August 10, 2025 )
Collections
  • On View
  • Asian
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.