Project Description

Stag antler netsuke of a fish in lucite case by Guy Shaw (British 1951-2003) 

Carved from the most porous core of the antler, a fish weaves through the central square hole in an old Chinese coin with sea weed wafting alongside.  The whole is cleverly stained and the visible eye is of translucent horn with a dark horn pupil inside and gold foil behind.

Signed with monogram GS on a gold tablet. 1980s

4.8 cm across

The netsuke fits neatly into a custom made case of carved lucite, a favoured material of the artist

Information: 

This seems to be a more successful version than that illustrated in Welch and Chappell, Netsuke, Minneapolis, no. 291. A closer variant is illustrated in an undated exhibition of Barry Davies, ‘Contemporary Netsuke by Guy Shaw, no. 3. The first in the series was carved in 1983, and this may be the only one to have the lucite case

MR2584