IKKOSAI: A FINE IVORY NETSUKE OF A MONKEY WITH TWO YOUNG

IKKOSAI: A FINE IVORY NETSUKE OF A MONKEY WITH TWO YOUNG

By 'Saru' Ikkosai, signed Ikkosai 一光齋
Japan, Tokyo, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Finely carved, the male adult monkey warding off the attacks of its young, one cradled in his arm and another standing and grabbing at his face. The young standing monkey's face is obdurate, gripping the arm which holds him at a distance and grabbing the face of its parent with the other hand. The hair of the trio is finely incised and stained, the ivory superbly polished, and the eyes inlaid with dark horn. Natural himotoshi. Signed within an oval polished reserve IKKOSAI.

LENGTH 3.5 cm

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and only very few natural age cracks.

For a detailed discussion of the artist see INSJ Vol. 39, no. 3, Fall 2019, pp. 29-34. As noted in the article, the artist dubbed 'Saru' Ikkosai appeared to have a shared sphere of influence with the master carvers Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1892) of Osaka and Meikeisai Hojitsu of Edo.

Literature comparison:
Compare to an ivory netsuke by Kaigyokusai Masatsugu in Hurtig, Bernard (1973) Masterpieces of Netsuke Art, no. 701.

Auction comparison:
Compare to a closely related group of three monkeys by Ikkosai at Bonhams,The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke Part I, 8 November 2016, London, lot 101 (sold for GBP 4,000). Compare to a related monkey group signed Hojitsu, sold at Bonhams, The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke Part II, 10 May 2017, London, lot 113 (sold for GBP 8,750).

Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number DE-K-231109-652).

This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.