Ɏ TADAMITSU: A SUPERB AND RARE KYOTO SCHOOL IVORY NETSUKE OF A TIGER

By Tadamitsu, signed Tadamitsu 忠光
Japan, Kyoto, late 18^th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Published: Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part B, p. 839.

Finely carved depicting a tiger seated in a compact pose, turning its head back over its shoulder with a powerful expression. The fur is incised in delicate striations, heightened with dark staining, which contrasts beautifully with the smooth planes of the ivory. The underside is equally well-finished, showing the paws and tail curled beneath the body. Natural himotoshi and signed within an oval reserve TADAMITSU. Beautiful, deep-yellow patina.

LENGTH 4 cm

Provenance:
- Ex-collection Paul Vautier, acquired in Japan in 1910.
- Friedhelm Haniel (1888–1938), Düsseldorf, Germany, acquired from the above in 1918.
- Sold at Van Ham Auktionen, Cologne, 18–19 November 1977.
- Offermann & Schmitz, acquired from the above.
- Thereafter in an old German private collection, acquired from the above.
Louis Vautier (1865–1930), son of the Düsseldorf painter Benjamin Vautier, moved to Japan in 1888 as a representative of the trading firm C. Illies & Co. There he developed a lifelong passion for Japanese art. Between 1890 and 1918, he assembled an important collection of Japanese works of art, much of which was later acquired by Georg Oeder. A portion of the collection was documented in the 1916 catalog Japanische Stichblätter und Schwertzieraten, co-authored with Otto Kümmel.
Friedhelm Haniel (1888–1938) was a German landscape painter associated with the Düsseldorf School and a successful shipowner. A member of the prominent Haniel industrial family, he combined his professional career in shipping with a deep personal commitment to the arts, both as a painter and as a collector.
Condition: Good condition with wear and expected natural age cracks. A tiny chip to one claw of the right forepaw.

Tadamitsu, a pupil of Tomotada of the Kyoto school, has only a handful of works recorded, unlike his master, who is renowned for his tiger carvings, examples by Tadamitsu are exceptionally rare and therefore particularly desirable.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related netsuke of a tiger licking its right hind paw by the same artist, signed Chuko (Tadamitsu), illustrated in Barry Davies Oriental Art (1996), Netsuke Through Three Centuries, pp.60-61, no. 52.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related ivory netsuke of a tiger biting a bamboo shoot signed Tomotada, dated to the late 18^th century, 3.2 cm (height), at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Works of Art, 19 March 2013, New York, lot 2139 (sold for USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).

Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number DE-DA-250423-17).