Okimono in the form of a curious snake exploring a skull, of carved and inlaid wood, the snake’s eyes double inlaid and its tongue of silver. Signed on either side of the skull with a carved seal form signature, one that reads: Asami Kun No Tame or Made For My Friend Asami, and the other: Sukeyuki Okina Koku or Carved by the Old Man Sukeyuki (Izumi Sukeyuki, 1838 – 1920). Late Meiji Era, circa 1900 – 1910. Note: silver tongue a later replacement.

Sukeyuki carved the skull and snake from one section of wood, and the lower jaw from another, articulating the two with extreme realism. The teeth are carved from another type of wood and inlaid. Details such as the surface of the bone, worn or eaten away in sections, are finely rendered. The whole study with the snake curling through the empty cavity of the skull forms a tour de force of carving.

Attracted by the movement of its tail, the snake risks being too clever for its own good. This okimono is also a Buddhist meditation on mortality and the nature of life.