Until 2nd May, 2025
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NAITO TOYOMASA: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A DRAGON EMERGING FROM AN EGG
LOT 122 - NE0524
By Naito Toyomasa (1773-1857), signed Toyomasa 豊昌
Japan, Sasayama, Tanba Province, c. 1820, Edo period (1615-1868)
A pleasingly tactile and ideally compact netsuke, finely carved in partial openwork as a dragon emerging from an egg (tatsu no tomago), its body writhing within, its mouth open in a fierce roar. The scales are meticulously incised and stained dark for effect. Generously excavated himotoshi to the smooth section of egg and signed with the typical elliptical reserve TOYOMASA. An early work by this master carver.
LENGTH 4.3 cm
Condition: Some general surface wear, small loss to one whisker, and a few repaired sections to the egg. Overall presenting very well.
Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related, yet later wood netsuke by the same artist of a dragon emerging from an egg, signed Toyomasa, in the British Museum, accession number F.1091, illustrated in Barker, Richard / Smith, Lawrence (1976), Netsuke: The Miniature Sculpture of Japan, p. 112, no. 210.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related wood netsuke of a dragon emerging from an egg, signed Hachiju-sai Toyomasa (Toyomasa at 80 years old, corresponding to 1853), illustrated in Hurtig, Bernard (1973) Masterpieces of Netsuke Art: One Thousand Favorites of Leading Collectors, p. 176, no. 734, also illustrated in Bandini, Rosemary (2020) The Larry Caplan Collection of Japanese Netsuke, no. 20, where the netsuke is dated to c. 1820. Note the very similar features such as incised whiskers to the egg and lack of inlays to the eyes.
Auction comparison:
Compare a relate wood netsuke by the same artist of a dragon in a mikan (tangerine), signed Toyomasa, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 28 April 2023, Vienna, lot 56 (sold for EUR 7,800).
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