Japanese katabori, monk ringing bell

An image of Netsuke: katabori: Monk ringing bell. Unknown maker, Japan. Figure of a Buddhist priest, bald, clad in a robe and barefoot holding his padded mallet with both hands and banging on a large mokogyo. The red lacquer bell has two fishes' heads protruding from either side, each decorated with green and gilt with traces of red on the nose and eyebrows, their open jaws clasping a gilt ball. The fishes' scales are decorated in red lacquer and gilt. Himotoshi in the flat wooden base. Wood, red lacquer with green and gilt decoration, carved and stained, height, whole, 3.4 cm, width, whole, 4.4 cm, circa 1800-1868. Edo Period (1615-1868).

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Netsuke: katabori: Monk ringing bell. Unknown maker, Japan. Figure of a Buddhist priest, bald, clad in a robe and barefoot holding his padded mallet with both hands and banging on a large mokogyo. The red lacquer bell has two fishes' heads protruding from either side, each decorated with green and gilt with traces of red on the nose and eyebrows, their open jaws clasping a gilt ball. The fishes' scales are decorated in red lacquer and gilt. Himotoshi in the flat wooden base. Wood, red lacquer with green and gilt decoration, carved and stained, height, whole, 3.4 cm, width, whole, 4.4 cm, circa 1800-1868. Edo Period (1615-1868).

Image data

Accession Number: O.91-1991
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/32.0
Focal length: 100
Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Photographer name: Image Library; Fitzwilliam Museum
Image height: 780 pixels
Image width: 1023 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 91.21kB
Exposure time: 1/30
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 32/1
Captured: 2000:01:01 06:03:46

Key words

19th Century bell bell ringing bells Buddhism Buddhist carved Edo Period fish fish scales Fitz_AA gilded gilding gilt himotoshi Japanese katabori lacquer lacquered lacquering male mallet mokogyo bell monastic monks netsuke priest robes stained temple bells wood wooden

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Japanese katabori, monk ringing bell"
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