Okimono signed Takayoshi?

[Tensho]

I acquired an okimono of a Hippopotamus.  Google translate is telling me its signed Takayoshi but I cannot find any carver of this name. Thoughts? 

[ROKUJURO]

Matt,

there are not many hippos in Japan, I think, so this could well be by a Chinese carver (hipps are probably scarce in China, too). Probably not old.

[Bugyotsuji]

Agreeing with Jean here. The style of writing looks Chinese too, and the crack lines look artificially aged.

[Tensho]

One could argue that there's not many elephants in Japan either. Haha 

 

Can't comment on where it was made. Could very well be of Chinese origin I suppose.

 

As to "artificial" aging im going to have to strongly disagree. I have been collecting scrimshaw and other ivory items for years. 

 

Here is it next to a centuries old billiard. 

 

 

[SteveM]

If I search for "netsuke" and "takayoshi" in Japanese, I can find other, similar items with this same name (孝悦). 

 

Note: I can't confirm that Takayoshi is the correct reading of the name, but it does seem to be the most plausible. 

Note 2. A lot of these sites are websites that are spoofing other dodgy auction sites, so the links won't direct you to a real website. Still, you can see the items and the mei on the thumbnails. I'm guessing there really is/was an artisan by the name of Takayoshi, but I can't find any specific information on him. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=587171574&rlz=1C1ONGR_jaUS979US979&sxsrf=AM9HkKltqoQymZhP1wHE820MwiCW4IMoSA:1701485140072&q=根付+孝悦&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN_vSK3u-CAxWEKkQIHQPqBXwQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=1200&bih=543&dpr=1.5

 

Note 3: Not my area of expertise, so it goes without saying I have no opinion on the authenticity of the mei. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, you asked for thoughts, so it is a nicely carved hippo Matt.

 

Most of the Koetsu (Takayoshi) signed ones (advertised there as 本象牙 'genuine ivory') in Steve's link look modern, and none of them have serious age cracks.

Reading. In my netsuke carvers lists, many more carvers starting with 孝 are listed under Ko- (14) than Taka- (2), so the likelihood of a Koetsu reading is high in my opinion, although this particular carver is not listed under either reading. 

 

Okimono start to come into play in the Meiji era, but my guess for yours would still be modern, despite your lovely billiard ball. For me this leads me to question the black cracks, and since we have had this debate many times over on the International Netsuke Society site with photographic examples of induced cracking, this tends to tip me to the above opinion. As always, though, I am interested in others' views and stand to be corrected or adjusted.

 

PS The first thumb in Steve's link is by Okazaki Koetsu, 1990. Does this mean the carver is actually Japanese?

[Brian]

It may be more modern, I am not sure. But it certainly is a charming piece with character. I like it.

[Matsunoki]

I doubt this is by a netsuke carver so looking in netsuke reference books is unlikely to yield much. However there are literally hundreds of Okimono carvers (of vastly varying abilities) who are not recorded and I think this is most likely Meiji period, probably late Meiji and by an okimono carver. There was a phase when exotic animals were extremely popular subjects for both ivory carvers and also some of the most famous bronze studios. Subjects include the usual lions and tigers but also camels, crocodiles, bison, bears etc etc and apparently hippo! The ivory used here would have been poor quality to start with. All those cracks and fissures would have been present in some form but have become more noticeable with age….handling, climatic effects etc. Heat plays havoc with ivory! The comparison to the billiard ball is spot on.

[PietroParis]

AFAIK, "spider web" cracks such as the ones on the hippo do not occur naturally, but are the result of exposure to intense heat. Whether this was done intentionally to make a modern piece look older, or it was accidental (fires were quite common in the past), is a different matter. To me the comparison with the billiard ball simply suggests that the latter was also exposed to heat at some point in its history, although the cracks on the ball show a more concentric structure.

 

Concerning the hippo, my first impression was that such an anatomically correct representation was not compatible with Edo Japan, when the only exposure of a carver to exotic beasts would have been through foreign illustrations (*). However, it might be that, as mentioned by Colin, things were different in late Meiji. A certain sloppiness in the feet and in the signature still makes me wonder if this might be a modern piece, perhaps a sharper enlargement of the signature might reveal traces of an electric tool.

(*) With very few exceptions such as when exotic gifts to the Shogun were paraded on the road from Nagasaki to Edo.

 

[Matsunoki]

2 hours ago, PietroParis said:

but are the result of exposure to intense heat.

Hi Pietro

it need not be intense heat. I’ve owned a great many similar ivory balls over the many years of restoring okimono and netsuke. I used to cut them up and use them as raw material when needed. Many had exactly these spider cracks that had over time also gone black. I don’t believe that all of them had been exposed to extreme heat. Of course I could be wrong but I think exposure to a hot and cold cycle ie summer/winter over many years can cause it. The process is greatly worsened if they get damp and then freeze…..as was common in most households years ago.

Exotic animals started arriving in Japan in the early part of the Meiji period and the first zoo was opened around 1880 I think  in Tokyo so carvers would have access to some live specimens around that time and then throughout t the rest of the Meiji period. Don’t know if they had hippos but it wouldn’t surprise me!

 

[Tensho]

Been sitting back enjoying the comments.. Depends on the tusk and where on the tusk this piece was taken from. If the tip, this cracking isn't a surprise at all. They have obviously opened up more over time due to temperature changes. But they would have  been present even when carved.  I have handled hundred of pounds of ivory including full tusks of elephant, hippo and walrus. They all vary in appearance. But what would I know?

 

As far as billiards go they almost all look like that. 

 

 

Here's a closer up photo of the signature. 

[PietroParis]

Everything is possible of course, but even in my relatively brief experience as collector I must have handled many hundreds ivory netsuke, and examined several thousand more pictures. In most cases, natural age cracks on ivory netsuke look sparse, relatively regular and aligned along specific directions, which indeed depend on the position and orientation of the ivory piece w.r.t. the axis of the tusk. In contrast, the kind of dense spider-web cracks we see on your hippo (especially on the ass and on the legs) are commonly found on modern pieces that were "baked" to make them look older.  Maybe your hippo is an exception, who knows. But even in that case it seems unlikely to me that the cracks were "present even when carved", if the carving really took place in the Meiji period. The carver would have wanted to sell his product for a good price, thus he would not have used a piece of ivory that was already this disfigured. OTOH, a modern forger could very well profit from an already-disfigured piece of ivory to give an appearance of age to his product.

 

One aspect you might investigate to distinguish between natural and heat-induced cracks is their distribution and direction. How do you think the original block of ivory was oriented within the tusk? Does the distribution of the cracks appear compatible with this orientation? You can see that the cracks in the four billiard balls are all roughly concentric, presumably centered on the axis of the tusk. I cannot figure out a similar pattern on the pictures of the hippo, but maybe that will be easier in hand.

Finally, it seems to me that your last picture of the signature does not reveal the "dottedness" that one often sees when an electric drill is involved.

[Matsunoki]

12 minutes ago, PietroParis said:

are commonly found on modern pieces that were "baked" to make them look older.

Pietro, can you show us images of these modern pieces? I would be very interested.

Thanks.

[PietroParis]

P.S. A google search does yield a couple of Meiji-period hippo okimono in bronze. See e.g. this one:

 

[PietroParis]

7 minutes ago, Matsunoki said:

Pietro, can you show us images of these modern pieces? I would be very interested.

 

This was just a couple of days ago in a Facebook group. Of course in this case you don't need to assess the cracks to spot the modern Chinese trinket...

 

 

[Matsunoki]

15 minutes ago, PietroParis said:

The carver would have wanted to sell his product for a good price, thus he would not have used a piece of ivory that was already this disfigure

Not all okimono carvers were good enough or wealthy enough to use the better sections of tusks. Offcuts and crazed/cracked sections were very often used to produce acceptable items that could be sold quickly and easily to the foreigners in Japan during the Meiji period. Of course these pieces that had faults from the start quickly deteriorated .

On the other hand the highly skilled netsuke/okimono carvers could and did use the finest tusk sections. That’s why many pieces are still flawless…..but time eventually catches up even with many better pieces as evidenced on some superb 18thC netsuke.

To me this hippo has a distinctly Japanese Meiji feel….albeit not a great work of art……but …….its just my opinion.

[Matsunoki]

9 minutes ago, PietroParis said:

This was just a couple of days ago in a Facebook group.

That is interesting. Of course the Chinese now use a heck of a lot of fossilised Mammoth ivory which exhibits exactly these characteristics. I wonder if what you image is mammoth?

[PietroParis]

A few more "baked" pieces (also from Facebook groups, the INS website is down these days). No clue if some of these are mammoth, one could figure that out from a closer look at the Schreger lines.

 

 

 

 

[Matsunoki]

The Chinese are certainly very inventive! I’ve  been out of the “ivory scene” for over 10 years and hadn’t encountered these cooked items. They are also getting better at the actual carving but somehow they miss the “Japaneseness” of things and I still haven’t seen a convincing Chinese signature….yet🙂. Bit like swords…….they are getting scarily good.

Now I’m doubting this hippo!

[Tensho]

Nice pictures Pietro! Thanks for sharing. I understand what you're saying about mine now. The Chinese have been digging up lots of mammoth remains in Yakutia. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what they're using. 

 

The pulp cavity on mine is rather small and comes out under one leg and through the tongue. 

 

Either way, I'm happy with it. I randomly came across it at an antique shop with some other ivory items. They had it listed as a carved chinese hippo made of bone. 

[PietroParis]

Thank you Matt, the ass picture is quite revealing: I see some kind of concentric pattern around the pulp cavity that might indeed point to natural rather than heat-induced cracks. OTOH, the intersection angles of the Schreger lines – as well as the look of the cracks, if natural – would suggest mammoth rather than elephant (although I don't know if the Schreger rule still applies this close to the center).