Sold for €18,300
including Buyer's Premium
By Matsushita Otomitsu (Otoman), signed Otomitsu 音滿
Japan, Hakata, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Published: Joly, H. L. (1913) Catalogue of the H. Seymour Trower Collection of Japanese Art, no. 165B.
Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 264, no. 818.
Barry Davies Oriental Art (1995) 100 Selected Pieces from the Netsuke Collection of Scott Meredith, no. 66.
A compact, well-carved and above all spirited carving of the lucky god Hotei pulling at his treasure bag with his teeth and revealing two young boys inside, one lying on his back and both smiling. The individual expressions are full of character and charm, one cannot help but smile when picking up the netsuke. The face of Hotei is very typical for Otoman, who is regarded as one of the greatest netsuke-shi of all time, with the eyes set wide apart and a broad nose.
Otoman’s netsuke are immediately recognizable as they possess a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ – as is the case with this piece. One does not need to see the signature, nevertheless it is boldly incised in the typical manner on the underside with two characters – OTOMITSU. Large, asymmetrical himotoshi through the underside. The wood bearing a good color and patina.
HEIGHT 3.1 cm, LENGTH 3.5 cm
Condition: Very good condition with minor associated surface wear.
Provenance: Ex-collections H. Seymour Trower, M. T. Hindson, G. Alessi and Scott Meredith
Auction comparison:
Wood netsuke by this most celebrated Hakata carver are extraordinarily rare. For a very similar, yet larger, and in our opinion much less spirited carving by Otoman see Sotheby’s, The Cornelius V. S Roosevelt Collection of Netsuke, 2 June 1992, New York, lot 170.
By Matsushita Otomitsu (Otoman), signed Otomitsu 音滿
Japan, Hakata, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Published: Joly, H. L. (1913) Catalogue of the H. Seymour Trower Collection of Japanese Art, no. 165B.
Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 264, no. 818.
Barry Davies Oriental Art (1995) 100 Selected Pieces from the Netsuke Collection of Scott Meredith, no. 66.
A compact, well-carved and above all spirited carving of the lucky god Hotei pulling at his treasure bag with his teeth and revealing two young boys inside, one lying on his back and both smiling. The individual expressions are full of character and charm, one cannot help but smile when picking up the netsuke. The face of Hotei is very typical for Otoman, who is regarded as one of the greatest netsuke-shi of all time, with the eyes set wide apart and a broad nose.
Otoman’s netsuke are immediately recognizable as they possess a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ – as is the case with this piece. One does not need to see the signature, nevertheless it is boldly incised in the typical manner on the underside with two characters – OTOMITSU. Large, asymmetrical himotoshi through the underside. The wood bearing a good color and patina.
HEIGHT 3.1 cm, LENGTH 3.5 cm
Condition: Very good condition with minor associated surface wear.
Provenance: Ex-collections H. Seymour Trower, M. T. Hindson, G. Alessi and Scott Meredith
Auction comparison:
Wood netsuke by this most celebrated Hakata carver are extraordinarily rare. For a very similar, yet larger, and in our opinion much less spirited carving by Otoman see Sotheby’s, The Cornelius V. S Roosevelt Collection of Netsuke, 2 June 1992, New York, lot 170.
Our online bidding platform makes it easier than ever to bid in our auctions! When you bid through our website, you can take advantage of our premium buyer's terms without incurring any additional online bidding surcharges.
To bid live online, you'll need to create an online account. Once your account is created and your identity is verified, you can register to bid in an auction up to 12 hours before the auction begins.
When you register to bid in an online auction, you will need to share your intended maximum spending budget for the auction. We will then review your intended spend and set a bid limit for you. Once you have pre-registered for a live online auction, you can see your intended spend and bid limit by going to 'Account Settings' and clicking on 'Live Bidding Registrations'.
Your bid limit will be the maximum amount you can bid during the auction. Your bid limit is for the hammer price and is not affected by the buyer’s premium and VAT. For example, if you have a bid limit of €1,000 and place two winning bids for €300 and €200, then you will only be able to bid €500 for the rest of the auction. If you try to place a bid that is higher than €500, you will not be able to do so.
You can now leave absentee and telephone bids on our website!
Once you've created an account and your identity is verified, you can leave your absentee bid directly on the lot page. We will contact you when your bids have been confirmed.
Once you've created an account and your identity is verified, you can leave telephone bids online. We will contact you when your bids have been confirmed.
You can still submit absentee and telephone bids by email or fax if you prefer. Simply fill out the Absentee Bidding/Telephone bidding form and return it to us by email at office@zacke.at or by fax at +43 (1) 532 04 52 20. You can download the PDF from our Upcoming Auctions page.
How to Create Your Personal Zacke Account
How to Register to Bid on Zacke Live
How to Leave Absentee Bids Online
How to Leave Telephone Bids Online
创建新账号
注册Zacke Live在线直播竞拍(免平台费)
缺席投标和电话投标
We partner with best-in-class third-party partners to make it easy for you to bid online in the channel of your choice. Please note that if you bid with one of our third-party online partners, then there will be a live bidding surcharge on top of your final purchase price. You can find all of our fees here. Here's a full list of our third-party partners:
Please note that we place different auctions on different platforms. For example, in general, we only place Chinese art auctions on 51 Bid Live.
You must register to bid in person and will be assigned a paddle at the auction. Please contact us at office@zacke.at or +43 (1) 532 04 52 for the latest local health and safety guidelines.