Netsuke Central

[Anthony de Vos]

Hi!

 

Here is my example of the Dee silver lighter mentioned above. It’s a beauty with gold on the inside. Enjoy!

 

Regards

 

Anthony

[Bugyotsuji]

Superb article, Anthony. And you have set a tiny flint, ready to roll!

[Matsunoki]

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

[John C]

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.

[Bugyotsuji]

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. 

[marcus]

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

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

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

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Also Marcus, if you can find a copy, this is a lovely book on Kagamibuta.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

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…

 

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

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.

[Andrew]

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

[John C]

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.

[Bugyotsuji]

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)

 

[marcus]

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

 

[Bugyotsuji]

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 

[Andrew]

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

[marcus]

Thank you for the reply! I am tracking dow a copy as I type.

Best,

Marcus

[John C]

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.

[Bugyotsuji]

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.)

[Van Minnen]

Can anyone identify this signature on my netsuke 

[Shugyosha]

Graham,

The word "please" is a politeness often overlooked but it can do wonders when you're asking a favour from complete strangers. Perhaps a few words about yourself and what you have too?

[Bugyotsuji]

First shot is upside down and fuzzy, but the second is a little better. Can you focus clearly on the signature once more? It seems to be carved into a resin material…(?)

Sometimes if signatures are not immediately obvious, we have to work with dictionaries to narrow down the possibilities. (Many are spurious, many are poorly written and barely legible, and many of course are not listed at all.)

 

So, an art name, beginning with 籍 (Seki) or 簑(or an older kanji version of Mino or Sai?) the last character of which looks as if it might be 雲 (un). Please do not expect an answer right away!

[Matsunoki]

Can we please see the whole netsuke? The immediate impression is that it is dubious irrespective of the apparent mei. 
 

[Van Minnen]

Hallo forum, I appreciate deeply Japanese art and culture. I have a very detailed Netsuke, carved from wood, which I bought, and have had for many years

It is very difficult to do justice with a photo, and the file only allows 2images.

But let me attempt. 

Thanks for any assistance. 

I think this is a traveller with a basket on his back

I am unable to add images to this post so will send images separately 

[Van Minnen]

[Van Minnen]

Apologies for posting several times, it's the only way the fike size accepts 

[Van Minnen]

Many thanks for your imput and assistance, I appreciate any help, this has been a conundrum for too long 

[Bugyotsuji]

This may be a Shōjō…

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shōjō

 

The redness, the kimono sleeve, her hair…

[PietroParis]

I think it's a particularly compact Ono no Komachi (look at hat, stick, hair and definitely non-youthful appearance). Check this link for a model with several features in common:

https://www.zacke.at/auction/lot/lot-389---a-fine-nagoya-school-wood-netsuke-of-ono-no-komachi/?lot=47957

Piers' identification of the first character seems correct to me, but there are no recorded signatures that include 籍.

 

P.S. how big is it? And is there really a hole going from top to bottom, as suggested by some of the pictures?

[Bugyotsuji]

You are right of course, Pietro. Many thanks for catching that.

 

Referring back to Sekisen, here is the entry in Lazarnick. 
PS ‘Onka’ should be Onko ware.