Catalog (1381)

Late 19th century netsuke of four blind men fighting, characteristic bumps on their heads. Excellent carving with a lot of detailing, superb faces, subtly incised textile patterns, very pleasant patina. Height 1.46 inches.

19th century netsuke of an octopus wearing a jacket and towering over a monkey seated on an abalone shell. Unusual subject - normally they are wrestling, but here it does not seem to be the case - the monkey is smiling. Superbly carved, excellent faces, wonderful detailing - see the coat of the monkey and abalone texture. Eyes of the octopus are inlaid with black horn. Beautiful wear and patina consistent with age, turning yellow on the back. Comes from the collection of His Royal Highness Princ...

19th century netsuke carved as a Chinese sage holding an oni mask in his hands, and a little boy seated by his feet. Wonderful carving, excellent faces, superb staining, graceful flow of their robes and delicately incised textile patterns. Wonderful warm yellow patina, very pleasant finish to the surface, old age lines. Signed NAOMITSU in irregular reserve on the back - the artist is listed on p. 822 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick. Height 1 3/8 inc...

18th century netsuke of a standing Dutchman with his mouth open, clutching a long-tailed rooster to his chest with one hand, wearing a hat, long coat, gaiters and shoes. Rare subject - Englebert Kaempfer (doctor with the Dutch East India Company who traveled to Edo in 1691-92) singing for Shogun Tsunayoshi at the annual reception of the foreigners in Edo. Superbly carved to the last detail (see his fingers, claws and feathers of the bird), fantastic face with well captured crazy look, beautifull...

18th century decent size wooden netsuke of standing sennin (Chinese sage) wearing a robe and a leaf cape robe and stroking his long beard. Very strong early carving, wonderfully captured facial expression, beautiful flowing lines of the robe, superb sense of volume. Does not stand of flat surface, large differently sized himotoshi in accordance with the habit of the time, superb patina. Excellent netsuke. Height 3.55 inches (90 mm).

Early 19th century boxwood netsuke of a frog on a folded decaying lotus leaf. Very strong early carving, perfectly captured posture, wonderful representation of shapes and textures. Excellent finish, beautiful wear and patina. Signed KYOGETSU in rectangular reserve on the bottom. Length 2.2 inches.

Late Meiji (1890s to 1912) netsuke of inebriated shojo trying to dance standing inside a huge sake cup while holding a ladle and a sake cup in its hands. Shojo are mythical creatures living near the sea, and are known to be particularly fond of sake. well carved, good smiling face, nicely incised textile patterns. Signed HIDEAKI on the bottom. Height 1.5 inches.

19th century lacquered netsuke of an actor in a role of a shojo with fan and a ladle. Shojo are mythical creatures living near the sea, and are particularly fond of sake. Great face, superb rendition of Noh theater robe with gold lacquer and iridescent mother of pearl, characteristic red lacquer hair, in excellent condition. Signed SHUGYOKU (can also be read as Hidetama) on the bottom - the artist is discussed on p. 990 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarni...

19th century lacquered boxwood netsuke of a recumbent goat, its head turned back and resting on its haunch. Excellent carving capturing the essence of the creature, wonderful depiction of its coat, eyes are inlaid with amber, excellent wear and patina.. Length 2.07 inches.

19th century wooden netsuke of two frogs frolicking on differently sized peony buds with stems. Wonderfull quality carving (see finely incised petals texture) carved, very beautiful warm patina. Signed GYOKUSEKI on the bottom - there is Gyokuseki listed on p. 428 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick, but this is much better quality carving than his usual work, probably a different carver with the same name. Length 2 inches.

19th century wooden netsuke of a turtle with its head and limbs hidden inside the carapace. Elegant strong carving, wonderful rhythm to the sections of the carapace, beautiful depiction of the creature. Central plastron on the back is removable and has a hole at the lower tip that serves as himotoshi. Wonderful patina, very pleasant to handle. Length 1.6 inches.

Early 19th century wooden netsuke of a lotus pod with 2 seeds that can move inside their sockets. Great early carving, dark dense fruitwood, himotoshi (cord opening) formed by the stem of the pod. Beautiful mellow patina from handling, in great condition. Pod diameter 1.66 inches.

19th century netsuke of a toad, a snake and a slug on rockery with bamboo grass. The subject of the netsuke is sansukumi: a combination of a snake, which eats a toad, which eats a slug, whose slime is poisonous to a snake - thus forming the circle of deaths. Beautiful rendition of textures - the skin of toad and snake, bamboo and rock surfaces. Warm patina and very pleasant wear to the surface, himotoshi (cord openings) are very cleverly carved as irregular holes in the rock. Signed KOCHO on the...

19th century netsuke depicting 2 boys mimicking Sambaso and Manzai performers, with one playing a drum, and the other wearing a theatrical mask of Hyottoko (perplexed peasant) and holding a fan and a rattle. Excellent detailed carving, wonderful faces, beautiful etching of textile patterns and hair tufts. Beautiful patina - mellow yellowing on the back, overall in great condition. Signed HOMIN with kakihan (monogram of the artist) on the bottom - the artist must have been a student of Hokei. Hei...

19th century netsuke of a monkey trapping an octopus in a large jar encrusted with barnacles. Unusual subject, superbly carved, excellent faces, wonderful detailing - see the smug face of the mammal and distressed one of the invertebrate, fine fur, jar surface texture and precise barnacle structures. Eyes of both creatures are inlaid with black horn. Beautiful wear and patina consistent with age, old collection number in red on the back. Height 1 1/4 inches.

Early 19th century boxwood netsuke of a resting spotted rabbit scratching its face with its hind paw. Wonderfully captured mood of the scene, excellent representation of its posture and fat body, nicely incised fur lines. Beautiful rich patina, pleasant to handle. Length 1.92 inches.

Netsuke of a standing sumo wrestler wearing an apron and getting ready for a match. Excellent concentrated and tranquil face, great sense of volume to his limbs and body. Signed NORIMITSU inside the apron. Excellent sculpture. Height 2 1/8 inches.

Netsuke of standing Jurojin (one of the 7 Gods of happiness, usually associated with longevity) holding a scroll and a fan in his hands, with a reclining spotted deer (symbol of longevity) by his feet. Excellent carving - see the detailing of his face, incised fingernails, coat and spots of the deer. Great quality staining, beautiful patina. Signed SHINZAN on the bottom - for a brief discussion of the artist see CONTEMPORARY NETSUKE by Miriam Kinsey, p. 237. Height 2 1/16 inches.