Page 225 - Fine Japanese Art October 28, 2020 Galerie Zacke

226 | GYOKUSAI: AN IVORY
TUSK BOX AND COVER WITH
DARUMA AND RATS
By Gyokusai, signed Gyokusai with an
illegible seal
Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Carved from a single tusk of oval shape, the
cover with leafy vines and a finial in the form
of a rat with a leaf on its back. The sides of the
box carved with leafy vines and several rats
of different sizes, all with finely incised fur,
two crawling over each other and one moving
through a ‘crack in the wall’. One side shows
daruma, the patriarch of Zen Buddhism, in
a typically satirical depiction, in front of what
appears to be a brothel window. His hands
and face form an amusing variation of the
akanbe gesture, with one hand pulling down
both eyelids and the other pushing two fingers
up his nose, and one of the rats on the rim of
the box is trying to steal his hossu (fly whisk)
without him noticing.
Japanese artists often parodied revered figures,
particularly Daruma, as a means of exposing
the hypocrisy of society. During the Edo period,
the word daruma became a slang expression
for a courtesan, and darumaya meant a brothel.

HEIGHT 11 cm
Condition: Excellent condition with minor traces
of wear and some natural age cracks.
Provenance: British collection.

Estimate EUR 1,500
Starting price EUR 750

227 | SHOMIN: A FINE IVORY
TUSK ‘BASKETWEAVE’ BOX
AND COVER WITH AQUATIC
ANIMALS AND CAT
By Shomin, signed Shomin with seal Ishiizumi/
Sekisen
Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Of cylindrical form, finely stained and carved
in the form of a woven bamboo basket
with seashell feet, from which a large fish
is attempting to escape as a cat strikes at it
with one of its paws, the other side showing
a frog vigorously pulling on a rope tied
around a crab. The cover with a flounder, two
seabreams, and a clam, with a handle in the
form of a fugu fish with a squid and clams.
Signed SHOMIN with seal Ishiizumi/Sekisen to
the underside.
HEIGHT 17.3 cm

Condition: Some minor natural age cracks,
otherwise in very good condition with minor
traces of wear.
Provenance: British collection.
Estimate EUR 2,000
Starting price EUR 1,000

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