13th Jun, 2025 10:00
Fine Japanese Art
176
A LACQUERED WOOD BUGAKU MASK OF KOROBASE
Sold for €1,040
including Buyer's Premium
Japan, 17th-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Finely carved and lacquered in gold, red, and black with a fierce expression, the grooved forehead with bold furrowed brows, large bulging gilt eyes and short beak. The interior with a paper label reading Korobase men [mask of Korobase].
HEIGHT 18.8 cm
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, a few chips and scratches, minor flaking and age cracks to the lacquer.
Provenance: Ex Rosin Collection, Wisconsin, United States. A private collection in Sweden, acquired from the above via the local trade.
Korobase, also read Konron Hassen and alternatively known as Tsurumai (crane dance), is a theater mask representing cranes with a crown used in the Bugaku dance known as Hassen (Eight Hermits), a quiet Hiramai dance of the Right U-no-mai, performed by four dancers.
The dance derives from two Chinese legends. In one, eight Chinese recluses living on Mount Konron come down into the city, and in the other, cranes dance on the beach to the sound of a Chinese zither. In Bugaku, four bird-like figures dance and their calls are represented by the jingling of small bells hanging from the beaks of the masks. The climax occurs when the dancers join hands and sweep around in a circle, evoking with the dark blue sleeves of their robes the takeoff and flight of the cranes. A representation of this scene appears in a famous screen by Tawaraya Sotatsu (early 17th century) in the collection of the Daigo-ji in Kyoto) as well as screens by Tosa Touou.
Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related mask of Korobase, dated to the 17th century, in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 11.5920.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related wood bugaku mask of Korobase, Edo period “or earlier”, 29.8 cm high, at Lempertz, Asian Art, 8 December 2012, Cologne, lot 562 (sold for EUR 2,750).
Japan, 17th-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Finely carved and lacquered in gold, red, and black with a fierce expression, the grooved forehead with bold furrowed brows, large bulging gilt eyes and short beak. The interior with a paper label reading Korobase men [mask of Korobase].
HEIGHT 18.8 cm
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, a few chips and scratches, minor flaking and age cracks to the lacquer.
Provenance: Ex Rosin Collection, Wisconsin, United States. A private collection in Sweden, acquired from the above via the local trade.
Korobase, also read Konron Hassen and alternatively known as Tsurumai (crane dance), is a theater mask representing cranes with a crown used in the Bugaku dance known as Hassen (Eight Hermits), a quiet Hiramai dance of the Right U-no-mai, performed by four dancers.
The dance derives from two Chinese legends. In one, eight Chinese recluses living on Mount Konron come down into the city, and in the other, cranes dance on the beach to the sound of a Chinese zither. In Bugaku, four bird-like figures dance and their calls are represented by the jingling of small bells hanging from the beaks of the masks. The climax occurs when the dancers join hands and sweep around in a circle, evoking with the dark blue sleeves of their robes the takeoff and flight of the cranes. A representation of this scene appears in a famous screen by Tawaraya Sotatsu (early 17th century) in the collection of the Daigo-ji in Kyoto) as well as screens by Tosa Touou.
Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related mask of Korobase, dated to the 17th century, in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 11.5920.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related wood bugaku mask of Korobase, Edo period “or earlier”, 29.8 cm high, at Lempertz, Asian Art, 8 December 2012, Cologne, lot 562 (sold for EUR 2,750).
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