It may be hard to believe, but this incredibly lifelike lobster is entirely made of boxwood. Hand-carved and fully articulated, it’s the painstaking work of 25-year-old Japanese sculptor Ryosuke Ohtake and an awesome example of form of uniquely Japanese sculpture known as jizai okimono.
"The craft involves carving realistic animals whose bodies and limbs are all animated through joints just like the real living thing. Some common subjects are birds, fishes, snakes and insects. It’s a craft that originated in the late-Edo period (late 1700s) when metalsmiths and armor makers, faced with a decline in demand for armor, found themselves with plenty of time on their hands. But ever since it’s modest beginnings, the lobster, with its numerous joints and undulating back, has been considered to be the most difficult and challenging subject."
What’s perhaps even more unbelievable about this amazing creature is that it was Ohtake’s very first jizai okimono piece. It was shown as part of a wooden sculpture exhibition which took place at Tokyu Department Store in Tokyo this past April.
Click here to watch a brief video to get a closer look at this truly astonishing wooden crustacean, how it was made, and how realistically every single part of its beautifully articulated body moves.
Then visit Ryosuke Ohtake’s Facebook page to check out more of his amazing sculptures.
[via Colossal]
