By Shukosai Anraku(sai), signed Anraku 安樂
Japan, Osaka, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Superbly carved and stained to depict a tiger taking shelter under a thick section of bamboo. The ferocious feline crouching to fit under the undulating form of the node, its bony paws firmly planted, the head sharply turned to the back, detailed with large eyes, crisply carved ears, and a long tail swung to the front. The characteristic tiger stripes are rendered alternating between finely etched and smoothly polished areas and the bamboo is similarly polished with a naturalistically carved, raised node encircling the section with a shoot sprouting from the side. Natural himotoshi and signed to the side ANRAKU.

LENGTH 5.6 cm

Condition: Very good condition with minor expected surface wear.
Provenance: The private estate of Gerty von Gottberg (1934-2024), Düsseldorf, Germany, acquired from the Lesley Kehoe Galleries.

This motif is called take ni tora, “tiger in bamboo”. There are many different interpretations; the tiger has a strong nature, is flexible and resilient like the bamboo, but it is also said that the strong tiger is looking for shelter underneath the bamboo, as any earthly power is inferior to the forces of nature. Moreover, the tiger and bamboo represent the power of faith in Buddhism.

Anraku was a student of Doraku and showed a strong affinity to the Osaka School master Ohara Mitsuhiro (1810-1875). Anraku’s work is characterized by skilled craftsmanship and individual character. Primarily working in ivory, Anraku, like others of the Osaka School, made free use of engraving, the deeply blackened lines of which made effective contrast with the ivory ground.

Museum comparison:
Compare a related ivory netsuke of a tiger in a bamboo segment, 1850-1860, formerly in the Trumpf collection and now in the Linden Museum Stuttgart, inventory number OA 19062.

Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number DE-K-240429-255).