Japanese Vintage Wooden Interlocking Puzzle Egg existential art There is an incised vine

There is an incised vine pattern running up the sides of the black handle

it was hand-painted with a tea pot and pillow in red and other tea ceremony accoutrements in copper and silver — nothing extraneous

Whatever the story

Accompanying the striking images in many cases are terse satirical captions

deeply carved eyes

Japanese Vintage Wooden Interlocking Puzzle Egg existential art There is an incised vineI think it is likely a sign of these times, but everywhere I go physically and virtually I find myself picking up wooden puzzles. This heavy! wooden egg puzzle I believe is Japanese, and I must admit I am wary of taken more than a few pieces apart for fear of not being able to put it back together. It is actually a but of a puzzle to even figure out how to begin; it took me several minutes to find which piece had a little give (push, actually) to