A Japanese carved elmwood (keyaki) okimono of a Dutchman

Nagasaki, Edo period, 1st half of the 19th century

 

H. 35.5 cm

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Standing straight against a stack of blocks on a platform, the long-haired Dutchman wears a hat and a short coat over a button-up waistcoat, knickerbockers, breeches, and shoes. He is holding a pipe in his right hand and has his left hand in his pocket. These figures of ‘exotic foreigners’ were mainly made for the Japanese market as examples of foreign figures and were probably not commissioned by the Dutch.