Page 71 - Fine Japanese Netsuke, Sagemono, Oikimono April 29, 2019 Galerie Zacke

SNAKE / HEBI

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A FINE AND RARE NETSUKE OF A COILED SNAKE BY BY A RARE MARINE IVORY NETSUKE OF A COILED SNAKE BY RANTEI
TADATOMO "Y 2ANTEI MARINE IVORY NETSUKE
"Y 4ADATOMO IVORY NETSUKE Japan, Kyoto, mid-19 CENTURY %DO PERIOD
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Japan, Kyoto, early 19 CENTURY %DO PERIOD
A compact and naturalistic study of a coiled snake, the bulging eyes double
An expressive netsuke of a snake, its body intertwined, and inlaid in dark and pale translucent horn, carved from a choice piece of marine
the scales expressively carved in a cross-etched pattern. IVORY !LTHOUGH THE SNAKE hebi) is in the zodiac, as the sixth animal, it is
Especially the belly scales are carved naturalistically in neatly relatively rare in netsuke art. The best examples are probably from Nagoya
arranged overlapping rows. The eyes are inlaid in dark horn. or Takayama and carved from wood, however the present example is from
The underside with the signature 4!$!4/-/ in a rectangular Kyoto, carved from a rare material and from the well-known artist Hogen
reserve; natural himotoshi through several openings of the Rantei. The snake’s serpentine body forms a knot, an ideal netsuke shape
coiled, serpentine body of the snake. with natural himotoshi, and the composition of the body is true to nature –
the scales are minutely carved, the tail section is very thin and fine, with the
HEIGHT 2.8 CM mid-section getting thicker and tapering towards the head. The snake has
its ‘neck’ slightly raised, granting movement to the composition. The head is
Condition: Excellent condition resting on its body and with the tongue greedily sticking out, probably fixing
0ROVENANCE "RITISH PRIVATE COLLECTION its eyes on some sort of prey. The signature RANTEI written in sosho can be
found in a rounded reserve on the underside.
Estimate EUR 3.000,-
Starting price EUR 1.500,- HEIGHT 2.8 CM

Condition: Excellent condition, minor imperfections in the material
Provenance: Austrian private collection
,ITERATURE COMPARISON #OMPARE TO ANOTHER SNAKE BY 2ANTEI IN THE "AUR
collection, Marie-Therese Coullery and Martin S. Newstead, Geneve, 1977,
page 314, C 962.
Estimate EUR 2.500,-
Starting price EUR 1.250,-

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