18th-19th century Japanese carved wooden monkey mask. Monkeys in the mountains of Japan have always been appreciated for their charm and how similar they seem to their human cousins. This mask is a work of an amateur carver done as a simple ornament to a dwelling in a country village. The wood may be keyaki, but since it is covered with lacquer this is only a guess. However, there are a few cracks that seem to indicate that it is a hard wood. On the back it has a tag from "The Lacquer Shop" at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It was acquired by our gallery from an estate, and sold to a client at our Eaton Square Gallery. It was recently repurchased from the estate of our client of 25 years ago.
