Netsuke authentication

[coatedmarlin]

Hello there! I recently got this guy merely because I love collecting interesting and cute animal figurines. It wasn't until later that I learned it was a netsuke and the history behind them. 

 

I believe it is ivory as I see the cross hatch pattern under light on the front of the chest.

 

I'm mostly curious on possibly dating it or if they are just tourist trinkets. Either way it's a cute addition to my collection.

 

Thank you!

[Bugyotsuji]

Cute, sure, but sadly everything indicates this to be a recently-made NLO. (Netsuke-like-object.)

 

Since ivory is a giant no-no internationally these days, just pray that it isn’t.

[Lilleskit]

19 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Cute, sure, but sadly everything indicates this to be a recently-made NLO. (Netsuke-like-object.)

 

Since ivory is a giant no-no internationally these days, just pray that it isn’t.

Hi,

 

What type of things stand out with this and other NLO's to hint that it may be a recently produced piece? 

 

Regards,

Ken

[Bugyotsuji]

51 minutes ago, Lilleskit said:

Hi,

 

What type of things stand out with this and other NLO's to hint that it may be a recently produced piece? 

 

Regards,

Ken

The simple answer Ken, is, as with Nihonto, you can tell at a glance, if you've spent any time with them in hand and studying with books. There are also websites dedicated to pointing out the differences. The difficult answer I will attempt to answer below. 

 

It is worth remembering that at any antiques fair you will find hundreds of NLO, but rarely a Netsuke with both fine quality of carving and serious age. There is some middle road with funky (民芸品 Mingei-hin) folkcraft netsuke used in everyday Edo-period life by ordinary people; these can have an old rustic charm of their own, and if you are lucky you can still find them at antques fairs, hiding within collections of more modern NLO pieces.

 

As I said above, everything. The opaque white of the material reminds me strongly of resin 'netsuke' produced recently for museums, or in sweatshops in China, although it could be marine ivory. I cannot see clear Schreger lines, except possibly in the tail, but there are nerve-ending holes fore and aft. The strength and application of the stain. The casual hairstrokes, the crudeness of the carving of the paws underneath. The rough treatment of the himotoshi holes, and the final straw is the obligatory Japanese-looking Mei. All of these shout NLO.

 

Having said that, I do not wish to shock the starter of this thread, as it is indeed a cute object, and many people collect these happily. Over on the International Netsuke site we get a steady steam of people who say their grandmother left them a precious collection and can we evaluate it. Well, sadly, no.

 

(By the way, there are modern genius artisans who produce one-off works of supreme art. Such netsuke are another complete area of collecting, but they can justly be very expensive.)

[lonely panet]

Looks like resin imho. The soles of the feet look cast not cut.

 

But i known nothing about this stuff

[Matsunoki]

4 hours ago, coatedmarlin said:

believe it is ivory as I see the cross hatch pattern under light on the front of the chest.

Can you image that? ……because  these two features (possibly the central nerve with cracks coming from it) suggest it may indeed be Ivory but of very low quality. 
I”m even wondering if it is an older piece that has been heavily “enhanced” and mercilessly re-polished.

[Bugyotsuji]

Hmmm… mammoth? 

[coatedmarlin]

Thank you everyone for your comments! I've been having a great time just reading about netsuke now and it's fun to have learned about them from a small antique find.

 

Here he is with the collection.