Anthony de Vos Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 Hi! Here is my example of the Dee silver lighter mentioned above. It’s a beauty with gold on the inside. Enjoy! Regards Anthony 4 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 10 Author Report Posted August 10 Superb article, Anthony. And you have set a tiny flint, ready to roll! 1 Quote
Matsunoki Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 1 hour ago, Anthony de Vos said: I have multiple examples from some models, both in iron and brass, and are willing to sell some to interested people. PM me if interested. Irresistible…..PM sent 1 Quote
John C Posted August 12 Report Posted August 12 Hello: Quality of the carving aside, would this grain pattern be indicative of ivory, bone, stone, or vegetable ivroy? Simply trying to identify the material. https://shopgoodwill.com/item/238542367 Regards, John C. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 13 Author Report Posted August 13 At a quick glance it is giving me a feeling of marine ivory, but that's just one opinion. It could be elephant ivory cut from the outer layers in such a way as to to hide any Schreger angles. 1 1 Quote
marcus Posted August 19 Report Posted August 19 Hi All, Thank you for the very interewsting and vauluable information in this thread! Some incredibly beautiful and delicately carved pieces have been shown so far I am a metal artist primarily involed in making tosogu, but have had a long fascination with kagamibuta netsuke for obvious reasons. I made one many years back and have had a desire to make more soon when time permits. I've been slowly collecting images for a while and there is one from the Wrangham collection, I think in Vol. IV, that has captivated me. It's supposedly by Kano Natsuo though I've never seen an image of the mei on the inside. The bowl was carved from narwhal, the lid is silver delicately inlaid with shakudo geese and carved with the inscription "Summer". I'm wondering if you all have a favorite kagamibuta netsuke you would like to share? I am sure there are many, many I've not seen before. Many thanks in advace!! Marcus 3 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 20 Author Report Posted August 20 Beautiful. Please see George Lazarnick, Vol.1, Netsuke & Inro Artists. PS That says ‘Natsuo’ in flowing kana form. (Not ‘summer’) Two or three clicks should magnify and clarify the image Kinkarakawa purse sagemono set 1 3 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 20 Author Report Posted August 20 Also Marcus, if you can find a copy, this is a lovely book on Kagamibuta. 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 20 Author Report Posted August 20 For you as a metal artist Marcus it must be the shape, the medium and the cameo ‘canvas’ I am guessing, somewhat like a tsuba.(?) The only kagamibuta (‘mirror lid’) I still have is signed Shibayama, showing a fan and fireflies over water, a summer evening scene. But the base material is not metal… 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 20 Author Report Posted August 20 PS I once had some work done on a matchlock pistol by an artisan at Osafuné. When I questioned the squiggles (like your なツお example above) he explained he had signed it シげツね Shigetsune, his artist name, in a jumble of hiragana and katakana. 1 Quote
Andrew Posted August 20 Report Posted August 20 Dear Kagamibuta fans, Have one and only. Bought for many years ago. As You can see,made of Antler. Motive, flowers and butterfly.Botan of different metals on top. Wishes Andrew 1 2 Quote
John C Posted August 20 Report Posted August 20 5 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said: George Lazarnick, Vol.1, Netsuke & Inro Artists This book can be borrowed from internet archive if you are registered. John C. 2 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 20 Author Report Posted August 20 Andrew, I think yours is more of a ‘Manju’ glutinous rice sweetmeat type, at best a kagamibuta cross. Most kagamibuta 鏡蓋 are tightly inset with a flat lid (the ‘mirror lid’ section) set into an uncarved, usually round frame. The string connects to a loop on the back of the lid and exits from a hole in the underneath of the frame body. Here is a well-worn example that I used to own. And here is a child’s one I posted earlier. (Top right) 1 Quote
marcus Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 Thank you Piers for the book recomendations and the lovely pieces you posted!! I will have to dig around and see if I can find copies. Andrew, Thank you as well! 10 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said: For you as a metal artist Marcus it must be the shape, the medium and the cameo ‘canvas’ I am guessing, somewhat like a tsuba.(?) Yes, it is very much in the same realm as the tsuba, and I'd like to explore it further. It's even more restricted than the canvas of a tsuba and that appeals to me. I feel the kagamibuta would be a wonderful medium to explore some ideas I have been tossing about. I'm curious if you know what the average size is for them? From what little I know it seems to be around 35mm to 40mm, but I'm not certain. 6 hours ago, John C said: This book can be borrowed from internet archive if you are registered. John, I am registered and I will have a look. Thank you for the info! Thank you all gentleman, Best regards, Marcus 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 21 Author Report Posted August 21 By the way, Andrew, I did not mean that one was better than the other, just that there are many types of Netsuke, and yours is more like a Manju than a Kagamibuta. Here I have three which would have been classed in the West as Manju, but I have discovered that in Japan they can be referred to as 'Senbei/Sembei Netsuke', as they more closely resemble flat 'osenbei' senbei crackers than a fat Manju. You asked about size, Marcus. In the Ashmolean there are some amazingly large examples, especially Manju, but in general kagami-buta too will be about 4~5 cm wide, I would say, as a rule of thumb. But rules, as they say, are meant to be broken. See Eijer's lovely book above for some stunning examples. Here are the three senbei examples. Two are ivory slices and one is narwhal. The narwhal (left) and one of the ivory slices bear a kamon on the central silver fitting. The third has a copper(?) 20-petal chrysanthemum kamon on either side, with a loop fitting underneath. The dark copper is finished in lovely wood-grain patterns that are said to be hard to replicate today. Photos follow And the cord attachment loops 3 Quote
Andrew Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 I agree and understand Mr Piers. No problem. I was too fast and entustiastic.. of cause my item is of cause a manju.Well, Japan and all there details... haha. //Andrew 2 Quote
marcus Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 Thank you for the reply! I am tracking dow a copy as I type. Best, Marcus 1 Quote
John C Posted August 22 Report Posted August 22 18 hours ago, marcus said: I am tracking dow a copy as I type. Marcus: If you are referring to the Lazarnick books, there is an auction on ebay for both volumes for 750. That's about the best price I could find. https://www.ebay.com/itm/376493745718 John C. 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted August 23 Author Report Posted August 23 The two-volume Lazarnick set and the two-volume MCI (Meinertzhagen Card Index, British Museum) are the standard Netsuke references, but heavy and generally not cheap! (There are many other wonderful books on Netsuke but Eijer’s book treats kagamibuta specifically.) Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.