A WOOD NETSUKE REFERENCING OTA DOKAN
A WOOD NETSUKE REFERENCING OTA DOKAN
Unsigned
Japan, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
A wood netsuke depicting a straw hat, a sickle and a bundle of yamabuki flowers (yellow wild rose, kerria japonica), all carved on top of a finely incised mino (straw raincoat). The details are finely rendered, and the underside is pierced with large asymmetrical himotoshi. The netsuke references a legend where Ota Dokan, a daimyo who died in 1486, was caught in a storm and was forced to build a shelter, asking a nearby girl to loan him a mino. Instead she brought him a bundle of yamabuki flowers, signifying by using a clever pun that she has no mino (as mino also means seed, and the double-petaled yamabuki bears no seed).
LENGTH 4.5 cm
Condition: Excellent condition.
Provenance: European collection.
Auction comparison:
A similar netsuke was offered at Quinn's Auction Galleries, The Mang Collection of Japanese Netsuke, 7 December 2012, Falls Church, lot 555 (estimate 2.000-2.500 USD).
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A WOOD NETSUKE REFERENCING OTA DOKAN
Unsigned
Japan, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
A wood netsuke depicting a straw hat, a sickle and a bundle of yamabuki flowers (yellow wild rose, kerria japonica), all carved on top of a finely incised mino (straw raincoat). The details are finely rendered, and the underside is pierced with large asymmetrical himotoshi. The netsuke references a legend where Ota Dokan, a daimyo who died in 1486, was caught in a storm and was forced to build a shelter, asking a nearby girl to loan him a mino. Instead she brought him a bundle of yamabuki flowers, signifying by using a clever pun that she has no mino (as mino also means seed, and the double-petaled yamabuki bears no seed).
LENGTH 4.5 cm
Condition: Excellent condition.
Provenance: European collection.
Auction comparison:
A similar netsuke was offered at Quinn's Auction Galleries, The Mang Collection of Japanese Netsuke, 7 December 2012, Falls Church, lot 555 (estimate 2.000-2.500 USD).
