Three monkeys · light group, 4.4 cm

The three monkeys as one cast group in light brass: three seated figures side by side, the fur drawn through finely. 4.4 cm high, 6.6 cm wide.

The holding has the motif three times: as three separate figures you can pull apart; as the smaller dark group (3.6 cm) in one casting; and as the lighter group (4.4 cm) with finer modelling. Different forms, the same message. Each is available separately.

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.

Solid brass, cast, left light. In the recesses — between the strands of fur, under the arms — the patina sits darker, on the raised surfaces the metal is bright. It is precisely that alternation that makes the modelling visible.

Height and width are read off the tape measure and can be checked in the photographs — with two similar groups in the same holding that is the only figure that tells them apart.

• One cast group, shared base
• Height 4.4 cm, width 6.6 cm (read off the tape)
• Three seated figures: eyes, ears, mouth
• Light brass, patina only in the recesses
• Fur drawn through finely
• Larger and finer than the dark group
• No mark or signature

Good. All three complete, arms and hands unbroken. Stands firmly.