Three monkeys · three separate brass figures

The three monkeys as three separate figures — not cast as a group but each on its own: one covers the eyes, one the ears, one the mouth. Compact, heavy and darkly patinated.

Most versions of this motif are one piece — three monkeys on a shared base, in a single casting. Here there are three separate figures, each with its own standing surface. That means you can pull them apart, arrange them differently, spread them over three shelves. And you feel when you pick one up that each is solid in its own right.

The three monkeys — see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil — are carved above a stable gate at Nikkō in Japan, in the 17th century. The sayings go back further still, to Confucius. They came to Europe through the Japan trade and became one of the most copied motifs in small sculpture.

The figures are cast in solid brass and darkly patinated. On the raised areas — shoulders, heads, hands — the patina has gone lighter because hands pass over them. Anyone wanting an even tone polishes it; most leave it.

• Three separate figures, not cast as a group
• Solid brass, dark patina
• Each with its own standing surface
• Compact, crouching pose
• Distinct weight
• No mark or signature

Good. All three complete, no breaks on arms or hands. The patina has grown evenly. All three stand by themselves.