Featured Carved or Cast Monkey Mom, Infant, an' Coconut; All Gilded

They're shown here 'cause I don't know where else they belong.

1 3/8" tall, 5/8" wide, 1" deep, her face to baby's butt; 4.4 grams.

Old enough to show considerable wear; baby's face has almost no detail left. Where the gold is not worn clear through to base material, there's a red, cinnabar-like color showing. There's a hole under baby's left arm, behind Mom's head, that would pass a cord...but that space, and all others that can, have accumulated considerable dust...or pocket-lint.
Have any of you seen similar? I sense it's Asian, but that's only a hunch...I don't think it's African. Thanks for lookin'!

 

Looks like Japanese netsuke. There are many wooden monkey netsuke on google search though none like yours. It looks like where the cord would pass through would rub against the babies face. Just an idea.

 

netsuke usually has two holes....at the base

 

I love little oddities like this .

 

Can you tell what the base material is? Does it feel light weight or heavy?

The red material could be a typical lacquer base used to prepare a surface for gilding in much Asian lacquerware. If that is the structure, I would expect the base material to be wood.

He may be Chinese, or possibly SE Asian (eg. Thailand). Monkeys are popular subjects in Chinese carvings. Here are a couple of Chinese monkey toggles in stone and brass, one in nephrite with a very similar theme:


https://www.buddhamuseum.com/nephrite-jade-monkey-mother-and-playful.html

http://www.michitrading.com/chineseantiques/chinese11.html

https://www.trocadero.com/stores/bh...ique-Chinese-Brass-Toggle-Monkey/enlargement4

I think your monkey is holding an Asian peach, a symbol of longevity, rather than a coconut.

 

That's a good observation, Jane.

At just under 5 grams, it's gotta be wood...bone would be at least twice that. I really don't want to try, but am willing to bet it would float in water.