Page 49 - Fine Japanese Art September 25, 2020 Galerie Zacke Netsuke and Sagemono

90 | KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU:
A MASTERFUL IVORY NETSUKE OF
A WELL-FED CROUChING CAT
By Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1892), signed Kaigyokusai
Masatsugu 懐玉齋正次
Japan, Osaka, mid to late 19th century
published: Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986)
MCI, Part A, p. 294.
Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal, Vol. 12, no. 3, p. 13.

A masterful ivory netsuke bearing all the trademarks of an authentic
netsuke by the Osaka master Kaigyokusai Masatsugu. A visibly
well-fed cat, with amusingly bulky proportions, is shown crouching
with its head lowered to the ground, the ears curiously laid back.
It sports an enigmatic smile, flanked by finely incised whiskers, as
it has spotted something near the ground. The subject may be
a clever homage to the motif of the rat-catcher, as what the cat
is actually looking for has landed on its back – a butterfly, finely
carved from the same piece of ivory, its marking stippled and inked.
The poor fat housecat is not a very good hunter! Perhaps it is also
nearing the water to take a drink, and then it will spot the butterfly
on its back in the reflection.
The eyes are characteristically double inlaid in reddish and dark
horn. The hairwork is masterful, not a single stroke is misplaced,
and the ivory is left largely unstained, smoothly polished, giving
the surface an appealing gleam as well as being very pleasant
to touch. The underside shows the beautifully carved paws
and the asymmetrical himotoshi, the larger one hollowed out
to accommodate the knot. Signed within a polished reserve
KAIGyOKUSAI MASATSUGU.
The originality of the design, the treatment of the hairwork, the
polish and overall quality of execution, leave no doubt as to the
authenticity of the piece.

LENGTH 4.1 cm
Condition: Overall good and completely original condition. Two
age cracks, one near the first kanji ‘Kai’ 懐 and the other just below
the mouth. A small section of the tail has been re-attached.
Provenance: German private collection.

AUCTION COMpARISON
Only two other cats are known by the artist. Another crouching
cat, formerly in the Hindson collection (illustrated in Davey, Neil
K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T.
Hindson Collection, no. 132) was recently sold at Lucien Paris,
24 September 2015, lot 391 (hammered down at 45.500 EUR,
excl. premium). The other is forever locked away in the LA
County Museum, formerly in the Bushell collection, accession no.
1998.249.80.

Estimate EUR 40.000,-
Starting price EUr 20.000,-

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