A French Collection
The collection in its present form comprises 143 wood and 112 ivory pieces. It will be evident
that I am not offering all of them here. Some will appear in two sales in the spring and
early summer, first at Zacke, then at de Baecque in Paris.
The first acquisitions were made
in 1997, the last in 2014. As the collector and I met in 2004, I am proud to have had a part
in the majority of purchases over the last 10 years of activity, which includes many of the
best netsuke in the collection.
In its early stages, the collection was mixed as to material and
subject, with a lot of human subjects. The first netsuke bought with my input was the ivory
snake attributed to Okatomo, after which animal subjects emerged as a distinct focus, with
a growing attraction to Nagoya wood carvings, rats finally dominating.
I think you will find
that there are some stunning examples here, but there should also be sufficient variety to
satisfy most tastes.
