Antique Japanese Wood and Papier Mache Rib Cage Section from Anatomical Model pastoraali and wonderfully graphic

and wonderfully graphic

) The crosses have come loose of the bases such that--but virtue of the stopped being lost--the whole scene can be rearranged more or less as desired using a long

but it's really one of my favorite objects ever

9" w x 6 1/2" t x 1 3/4" thick

The monkey alone measures 7" long x 1 3/8" wide x 45/8" deep

Antique Japanese Wood and Papier Mache Rib Cage Section from Anatomical Model pastoraali and wonderfully graphicThis beautiful sculptural curiosity is a Japanese wood and papier mache fragment half of a rib cage from what I presume was a full body model of a human skeleton. I've learned that very finely crafted wooden skeletons were first created during the Edo era in Japan (late 1700s early 1800s), when medical doctors were unable to keep human skeletons for study and teaching purposes. I would imagine this piece was made following in that tradition; I am not