Project Description

Whale’s Tooth Netsuke of a Kingfisher by Kaigyokusai Masatsugu

Its wings folded back as it dives. Its eyes are inlays of dark buffalo horn and its beak is gilt metal

It has always been said that the gilt metal beak is a restoration, but I have since realised that another netsuke of the subject has an identical one. See, Barry Davies Oriental Art, The Robert S. Huthart Collection of Non-Iwami Netsuke, 1998, no. 54. Meinertzhagen illustrates a variant from the Behrens collection in his Index on p. 290, with its beak intact and the comment: “Tomita regards this as the genuine work of Kwaigioku”. Another is shown in profile in Lazarnick’s ‘Netsuke and Inro Artists ….’, p. 563. Yet another is in the British Museum, poorly illustrated in Barker and Smith, p. 28, no. 8

Signed: Kaigyoku Masatsugu. Circa 1860

Length 7.4cm

Literature:

Journal of the Internationale Netsuke Collectors’ Society, 5/4, sale report of the auction referenced above, illustrated on p. 8

Provenance:

Sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 27th January 1978, lot 153

Robert Huthart, Hong Kong

MR3511

SEARCH ALL ITEMS IN THIS PRICE BAND

Price Band F1020

From £10,000-£15,000

See all F1020 items

CLICK HERE