Netsuke Central

[ROKUJURO]

Kenneth,

welcome to the NMB forum!

Nice little collection there, but to comment on the items we would certainly need close-ups for the details. 
Please use a dark, non-reflecting background for a good contrast when making photos, and cut off what is not needed to show the object. Photos of the HIMOTOSHI are always important.

[Matsunoki]

Sorry to say that from these images they all look like modern fakes.

None exhibit the skill and subtlety of Japanese carving.

Some may be ivory which just makes it worse.

Personally I would rather own one genuine piece than a multitude of these. 

[SpunkyMatney]

Thanks for the replies! Here are a few closer pictures. I will try to take some with the black back ground, I already had these taken from yesterday. 

[Matsunoki]

Sorry, still the same conclusion. All fake. Not sure extra images will tell us anything else.

[Bugyotsuji]

None really have a Japanese feel to them. All products of subsequent bandwagon workshops, mostly from China I suspect.

[Matsunoki]

54 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

mostly from China I suspect.

I agree Piers…..and if ivory they are a contributing factor to the modern mass slaughter of elephants in Africa which in turn has led to ivory bans on the sale of wonderful older works of art which hasn’t saved a single elephant. ☹️

[SpunkyMatney]

9 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

I agree Piers…..and if ivory they are a contributing factor to the modern mass slaughter of elephants in Africa which in turn has led to ivory bans on the sale of wonderful older works of art which hasn’t saved a single elephant. ☹️

Thank you for the replies! I suspected they were all fakes after doing some research, but wanted to get some opinions on here. I didn't pay much for them, they went for $110 at auction for all 11. The looked unique and I had never heard of netsuke, I'm glad I bought them though, I have learned a lot in the last week about netsuke, ivory and how the carve the netsuke, very interesting stuff. I'm going to see if I can sell all of these and find a real one, start my collection with a legit netsuke. Not sure if selling all of these will give me enough to get a real one. How much would a real netsuke cost, on the low end? 

Edited Monday at 06:03 PM by SpunkyMatney

[SpunkyMatney]

10 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

None really have a Japanese feel to them. All products of subsequent bandwagon workshops, mostly from China I suspect.

Thank you Piers! I appreciate the info. I will see if I can find a real one, I think I can identify ivory now, and I'm getting more confident in recognizing high quality Japanese carvings, after watch and reading about netsuke for the last week. Would you have any idea what the reddish dog with circular patterns on it is made of? I was thinking ivory at first, but the circular pattern and the reddish color don't seem to match elephant ivory, maybe a different type of ivory or maybe bone. Thanks again for taking time to reply!

[Matsunoki]

13 hours ago, SpunkyMatney said:

. I'm going to see if I can sell all of these and find a real one, start my collection with a legit netsuke

Excellent idea. These fakes are just a waste of your money?

13 hours ago, SpunkyMatney said:

How much would a real netsuke cost, on the low end? 

Well, assuming you are going to collect wooden netsuke then you can buy something “basic”, maybe something more “folk art” than “high art” for around $200-400 but beware, there are thousands, probably millions, of fake wooden pieces. The worldwide marketplace is overflowing with them. Just look on eBay!

Keep training your eye until you can spot the fake immediately and be patient.  
Spend a lot of time looking at this link……

https://www.bonhams.com/search/?chronology=past&query=Netsuke

[SpunkyMatney]

13 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

Spend a lot of time looking at this link……

https://www.bonhams.com/search/?chronology=past&query=Netsuke

Wow, some absolutely beautiful items! Like you said, the ones I have do not have the artistry that real netsuke have, mine look like any ol' carver could do, those on the site took some serious skill! Thanks again!

[PietroParis]

Budget netsuke is one of my favorite netsuke topics (mostly out of necessity...

 

With some luck and patience you can buy genuine antique netsuke even for less than 200 euro, but you need to know what you are doing to distinguish them from the 99.9% of fakes you will find in that price range.

 

These for example I paid around 100 euro each (two on eBay, one in a flea market and one in a local auction):

 

 

This one was 70 euro in a flea market:

 

 

This one I paid around 100 euro at auction but it has some obvious damage:

 

Edited 9 hours ago by PietroParis

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks Pietro!

 

There are many ways and means of finding good netsuke at a reasonable price, but you do need to train your eye on good examples first in order to be able to spot the bargains. Then get out and about to fairs and auctions and discover the sweet spots and the places to avoid. I found one this very morning.

 

Definitely if you don’t mind a little damage you can buy a very good Netsuke, even signed, and admire the carving work for a huge saving compared to a ‘perfect’ example. It will also educate you as to the hand of a particular master carver.

 

Step by step one gets to Rome!

[Bugyotsuji]

On 12/4/2025 at 4:33 AM, ROKUJURO said:

To me, they look like somewhat distorted interpretations of SEN no RIKYU's famous bamboo HANAIRE (one of them being called "ONJÔJI")

Today I found another example of a 'hanaire', still attached to a kinchaku purse. Thanks to this thread I recognized it as such (Jean!) and we can clearly see which himotoshi hole(s) was/were used for the himo cord. The other holes look decorative... except that on the back this one has a tiny slot as if to hang on a peg or a nail.

Bamboo (stag antler) Hana-ire hanging wall vase container.

Behind