Project Description
Exquisite Small Plum Wood Netsuke of a Recumbent Horse, by Banryusai
Carved with more delicacy and freedom of form than most netsuke representations of horses, other than those of the great Masanao of Kyoto. The upper lip is drawn up in a neigh, the end of the tail dividing over and beneath a hoof
Signed. Circa 1800
Length: 4.2 cm
I purchased this on instinct in a group lot at auction, without an inkling of how to interpret the signature. The first character was tantalisingly illegible under a loupe and I eventually got a clearer image by photography. Until last year the carver was known by only one wood netsuke, a Raiden from the Tomkinson collection, illustrated in the Meinertzhagen Card Index. In their sale of October 29th 2021, Zacke offered as lot 159 a netsuke of a mask carver, signed toto banryusai kasoko sen kore, the first word identifying him as an Edo artist. From illustrations I thought the netsuke looked interesting, but I am a tactile person who hates remote buying; touch is everything. Fuld mentions an ivory Tennin with signature Banryusai, sold by Nagel. I would need to investigate this further
MR4159
