9th May, 2025 13:00
Fine Netsuke & Sagemono
167
Ɏ DORAKU: A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF A FISHERMAN AND TORTOISE
Sold for €5,850
including Buyer's Premium
By Doraku, signed Doraku 道乐 and kakihan
Japan, Osaka, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Published:
Joly, Henri (1975) Catalogue of the H. Seymour Trower Collection of Japanese Art, no. 747 (unillustrated).
Zacke (1984) Netsuke und Inro, no. 111.
Superbly carved and stained, depicting a determined fisherman wearing a headcloth and apron, plunging his knife into the back of a tortoise. The carving is embellished with sumi (ink) for the fisherman’s hairs and ornate floral tattoo covering his left arm. The tortoise’s back and body is worked in ishime. The well-carved underside shows the two asymmetrical himotoshi and signature DORAKU and kakihan within the typical wavy reserve.
LENGTH 4.3 cm
Condition: Very good condition with light wear. A tiny chip to the edge of the tortoise’s carapace.
Provenance: Ex-collection H. Seymour Trower, collection no. 70 (recorded in Henri Joly’s catalog, no. 747). This early English collector (comparable to the German Albert Brockhaus) acquired his pieces between 1876 and 1910. Although his important collection had already come under the hammer at Glendining in London in 1913 (prices at that time averaged 1-3 pounds), it is easy to follow his traces because of the precise cataloging he later made available for research in the field of netsuke and other Japanese arts. Zacke (1984) Netsuke und Inro, no. 111. From an Austrian private collection, acquired from the above.
The artist Doraku belongs to the talented group of Osaka carvers including Ohara Mitsuhiro and Shukosai Anraku. This group of carvers excelled in the use of staining and often used sumi and ishime, as in the present piece, to finish their work.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related ivory netsuke of two wrestling drunks by the same artist, signed Doraku, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 16 April 2021, Vienna, lot 71 (sold for 10,980 EUR).
Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 24-B-0306).
By Doraku, signed Doraku 道乐 and kakihan
Japan, Osaka, mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Published:
Joly, Henri (1975) Catalogue of the H. Seymour Trower Collection of Japanese Art, no. 747 (unillustrated).
Zacke (1984) Netsuke und Inro, no. 111.
Superbly carved and stained, depicting a determined fisherman wearing a headcloth and apron, plunging his knife into the back of a tortoise. The carving is embellished with sumi (ink) for the fisherman’s hairs and ornate floral tattoo covering his left arm. The tortoise’s back and body is worked in ishime. The well-carved underside shows the two asymmetrical himotoshi and signature DORAKU and kakihan within the typical wavy reserve.
LENGTH 4.3 cm
Condition: Very good condition with light wear. A tiny chip to the edge of the tortoise’s carapace.
Provenance: Ex-collection H. Seymour Trower, collection no. 70 (recorded in Henri Joly’s catalog, no. 747). This early English collector (comparable to the German Albert Brockhaus) acquired his pieces between 1876 and 1910. Although his important collection had already come under the hammer at Glendining in London in 1913 (prices at that time averaged 1-3 pounds), it is easy to follow his traces because of the precise cataloging he later made available for research in the field of netsuke and other Japanese arts. Zacke (1984) Netsuke und Inro, no. 111. From an Austrian private collection, acquired from the above.
The artist Doraku belongs to the talented group of Osaka carvers including Ohara Mitsuhiro and Shukosai Anraku. This group of carvers excelled in the use of staining and often used sumi and ishime, as in the present piece, to finish their work.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related ivory netsuke of two wrestling drunks by the same artist, signed Doraku, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 16 April 2021, Vienna, lot 71 (sold for 10,980 EUR).
Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 24-B-0306).
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