A FINE TANBA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A MONKEY EMERGING FROM A CHESTNUT

A FINE TANBA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A MONKEY EMERGING FROM A CHESTNUT

Unsigned
Japan, Tanba province, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Of appealingly compact form, the monkey stepping out of the chestnut headfirst, one arm and leg resting on the lip of the opening, as it prepares to haul itself out. The simian carved naturalistically with gleaming eyes inlaid in pale translucent horn, the fur finely incised. The large nut exhibiting a variety of strikingly contrasting textures, the bottom worked in sublime ukibori to denote the coarse patch where the nut was attached to the cupule. Large himotoshi to the underside and a second aperture through the back.

LENGTH 3.9 cm

Condition: Good condition with minor surface wear. The underside with an abrasion near the himotoshi.

Literature comparison:
For a closely related wood netsuke of a monkey emerging from a chestnut, see The International Netsuke Society Journal (INSJ), vol. 25, no. 1, p. 21, no. 229.

Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related netsuke of a monkey in a chestnut, by Naito Toyomasa, at Bonhams, The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke Part III, 6 November 2018, London, lot 85 (sold for GBP 5,625).