An Ivory Okimono

Reference: ART200161

Finely carved in the shape of a Niō or Kongōrikishi statue surrounded by ten workers with bowl and brushes, apparently painting the large statue.

Condition: small piece missing.

Footnote: Niō are a pair of protectors who commonly stand guard outside the temple gate at Japanese Buddhist temples, one on either side of the entrance. The open-mouth version is commonly placed to the right of the temple, the closed-mouth version to the left. In Japan, the gate itself is often called the Niō-mon, meaning Niō Gate.