Antique ivory match holder with demon face · Japan · 19th century · provenance Schloss Herbligen

A 35-centimetre ivory holder for fireplace matches, worked from a single piece. A face is cut out of the wall: knitted brows, pierced eyes, a broad nose, a wide-open mouth with heavy lips, and a serrated crest of hair above. The mouth is cut right through — that is where the matches come out. The reverse carries a carved cartouche with an inset blue stone plate.

The piece comes with a hand-written card from the Zentralmarkt Bern flea market at the Dampfzentrale, Marzilistrasse. It reads:

«Demon mask · Japanese, 19th c. · Schloss Herbligen»

The printed side lists the 2013 market dates. The previous owner's signature is masked in the photograph — the original card goes with the piece to the buyer.

It documents a chain of ownership: Schloss Herbligen in the canton of Bern as the named previous holding, then the Bern flea market. It is not an official expertise, and the «19th c.» dating is the previous owner's attribution, not a report.

What it does change is the reading: this is not a tiki. By the inscription — and the physiognomy supports it — this is a Japanese demon face, an oni. The knitted brows, the open mouth and the piercing gaze belong to that pictorial tradition, not the Polynesian one.

The piece is ivory throughout, worked from a section of tusk. The cut edge at the rim shows the characteristic dense, homogeneous dentine with fine longitudinal lines; the surface has the waxy sheen and warm cream tone no substitute achieves, and the age cracks hold a grown brown patina.

A vessel of this height demands a tusk of corresponding calibre — that is the classic construction of Japanese ivory vessels and vases, and the reason such pieces are rare.

Ivory falls under wildlife protection law (CITES). Trade within Switzerland is permitted for pre-convention material — which applies to an object of this age. Note:

• Export abroad requires a permit. If you want the piece outside Switzerland, clear it with the FSVO beforehand — not afterwards.
• No sale through platforms. Ricardo, tutti and eBay exclude ivory in their terms regardless of age. This piece is therefore offered directly only.
• The card goes with it. It is the only provenance document the piece has — it stays with the object.

CHF 7,500.–, negotiable.

For orientation: an ivory netsuke of an oni from the Edo period, 18th century, achieved £1,875 including premium at Bonhams — at three to five centimetres. This piece measures 35 centimetres, is finished all round and carries a stone inlay. Japanese ivory vessels of this scale reach four to five figures at auction with a secure attribution.

The price sits deliberately below that, because the dating rests on a collector's note and not on a report. Anyone wanting a professional determination should do it before buying — if it comes out different, we talk again.

• Ivory, from a single piece
• Height 35 cm — takes fireplace matches
• Fully modelled face, fine chip-carved lines all round
• Mouth cut through, worked as the opening
• Cartouche with blue stone inlay on the reverse
• Original collector's card included

Good and consistent with its age. Edges crisp, surface with grown patina, fine age cracks — normal for ivory of this age and not a defect. Darkened inside from use.