A SET OF SILVER AND COPPER ARTICULATED SCULPTURES OF LOBSTERS

With their intricate bending shell, claws and antennae, shrimp and lobster are ideal subjects for the master jizai metalworker. The flexible body of the shrimp has the positive meaning of things going along smoothly and the spiny carcass of the lobster calls up samurai armor. The Japanese word for shrimp, ebi 海老, translates literally as “old man of the sea," suggesting longevity. In Japan, shrimp and lobster are served at special occasions and arranged in displays celebrating the New Year.
This type of lobster is called Ise ebi 伊勢海老 in Japanese as many of lobsters are harvested in Ise Province, Mie Prefecture. It is said that the spiny shell of lobster protects people from demons (oni 鬼) and brings good luck. In some of regions in Ise Province, there is an old custom to decorate the sacred rope (shimenawa 注連縄) with a lobster shells.