A Japanese Meiji period carved wood and ivory metamorphic Daruma hidden compartment figure, carved ivory face with rolling eyes and extending tongue, the dog head mounted to the left side with moving jaw, an ivory cross pinned to the right, the base section with pull-out compartment, this action functioning the rolling of the eyes, extending of tongue and moving of jaw. Height 18 cm, on carved hardwood stand. Note: Daruma, the Japanese Buddhist monk who lived during 5th/6th century A.D. is credited as the transmitter of Ch'an (then) to China and gained reputation for, among other things, his practice of wall-gazing. Legend claims that he sat facing a wall in meditation for a period of nine years without moving, which caused his legs and arms to fall off in atrophy