This is a #netsuke; a fastener for an #inro which is a detachable pocket used in Japan from #16CE. This carved netsuke shows the mythical #KingSojobo teaching the #Samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune in #12CE. Sōjōbō rules over the #tengu spirits from #Shinto belief who take the forms of birds & monkeys. This may be why Sōjōbō & his student appear to be in an eggshell.
In Collection: The Posnett Gallery
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