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

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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