Snake paperweight

About this piece

Incredibly beautiful and skill fully crafted, this artwork depicts a coiled snake with great detail. It likely served as a paperweight and is made of ceramic.

It also brings to mind the refinement of a Japanese netsuke or okimono, so precise and lifelike, yet touchable. I've seen someone literally recoil when they saw it. Every scale is visible, it almost seems to move; the artist must have studied this snake very closely before immortalizing it. Take a look at the eyes too, one is outlined in black, the other is not.

I've tried to find the name of the artist; the signature on the bottom suggests that the snake was made around the Art Nouveau period, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the signature in any of the books.

Condition

Excellent