Japanese Anatomical Figure — Ivory

This small, standing ivory figure is marked with a network of etched lines and Chinese characters that delineate acupuncture meridians and pressure points across the body. The carving illustrates the traditional medical geography of the human form as understood in East Asian medicine, mapping internal energy channels onto the external surface of the skin. Such models were utilized by practitioners to memorize the precise locations for therapeutic intervention.

This object represents a parallel to Western 'natural philosophy' and vitalist traditions, where the human body is viewed as a microcosm mapped by invisible, energetic forces rather than merely anatomical structures. While rooted in East Asian medicine, it intersects with the Western esoteric fascination with 'subtle body' mapping and the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm.