A SUPERB ANTLER NETSUKE OF A GRAZING HORSE, ATTRIBUTED TO TSUNEMASA

A SUPERB ANTLER NETSUKE OF A GRAZING HORSE, ATTRIBUTED TO TSUNEMASA

Attributed to Tsunemasa, unsigned
Japan, Kyoto, early to mid-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

The intrinsically charming horse with its head lowered in a twisting motion grazing with its slender legs together and its tail delicately swished to one side. Its eyes are incised with a woeful expression, its ears laid back, and its mane finely detailed. The material is brilliantly utilized, much of the spongiform and porous sections hidden away so that they are not visible when the netsuke is worn on the obi. Large and generously excavated himotoshi to the back.

HEIGHT 5 cm

Condition: Very good condition with minor typical wear, and few expected 'natural flaws'.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related antler netsuke of a grazing horse, signed Tsunemasa, illustrated on the cover of the International Netsuke Society Journal, (2015) volume 35/2, and further discussed in Jiri M. Mestecky's article, The Enigmatic Tsunemasa, p. 27. Compare a closely related antler netsuke of a grazing horse, signed Tsunemasa, illustrated in Lazarnick, George (1981) Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures (LNIA), Vol. 2, p. 1198.