Page 36 - Fine Japanese Art September 25, 2020 Galerie Zacke Netsuke and Sagemono

63 | UNShO hAKURYU II: A SUpERB IVORY
NETSUKE OF A TIGER WITh TWO CUBS

By Unsho Hakuryu II, signed Hakuryu 白龍
Japan, Kyoto, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

A powerful and dynamically crafted ivory netsuke of a tigress
placing one paw protectively on her sleeping cub, while another
climbs up over her back. The mother’s body is muscular with
pronounced shoulder bones, and her entire body is contorted
into a circle, her thick tail swinging around over her back, as she
lets out a powerful, yet comedically docile snarl. The sleeping cub
below her is almost entirely nestled underneath her body, its
chin resting on its paws, the tail swinging around to its side. The
climbing cub is determined and bravely snarling, baring teeth, the
tail also curling around over its back. The ivory is realistically stained
orange and the bellies are stained in a lighter color. The stripes are
stained brown and the surrounding areas polished to emulate the
tiger’s natural fur coat. The eyes of the mother and larger cub are
characteristically inlaid in mother-of-pearl with the pupils far apart.
Natural himotoshi and signed on the mother’s behind HAKUryU
inside a gourd-shaped reserve.
HEIGHT 3 cm, LENGTH 4.6 cm

Condition: The very tip of the climbing cub’s tail is restored.
Otherwise excellent condition.
Provenance: British private estate.

AUCTION COMpARISON
Several netsuke of tigers by Hakuryu
have been recently sold in these
rooms. The present netsuke appears
to be a mirror image of the one sold
by Zacke, Fine Netsuke, Sagemono &
Okimono, 2 November 2019, Vienna,
lot 105 (sold for 13.904 EUR), however
the orange stain of the present netsuke
is decidedly different and one cub is
sleeping.
Further similar netsuke by Hakuryu
were sold by Zacke, Fine Netsuke,
Sagemono & Okimono, 27 April 2019,
Vienna, lot 86 (sold for 13.904 EUR),
and Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono,
27 March 2020, Vienna, lot 46 (sold for
10.512 EUR).

Estimate EUR 5.000,-
Starting price EUr 2.500,-

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