KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU: A MASTERFUL IVORY NETSUKE OF A WELL FED CROUCHING CAT
KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU: A MASTERFUL IVORY NETSUKE OF A WELL FED CROUCHING CAT
By Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1892), signed Kaigyokusai Masatsugu 懐玉齋正次
Japan, Osaka, mid to late 19th century
Published: Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part A, p. 294.
netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal, Vol. 12, no. 3, p. 13.
a masterful ivory netsuke bearing all the trademarks of an authentic netsuke by the Osaka master Kaigyokusai Masatsugu. A visibly well-fed cat, with amusingly bulky proportions, is shown crouching with its head lowered to the ground, the ears curiously laid back. It sports an enigmatic smile, flanked by finely incised whiskers, as it has spotted something near the ground. The subject may be a clever homage to the motif of the rat-catcher, as what the cat is actually looking for has landed on its back - a butterfly, finely carved from the same piece of ivory, its marking stippled and inked. The poor fat housecat is not a very good hunter! Perhaps it is also nearing the water to take a drink, and then it will spot the butterfly on its back in the reflection.
The eyes are characteristically double inlaid in reddish and dark horn. The hairwork is masterful, not a single stroke is misplaced, and the ivory is left largely unstained, smoothly polished, giving the surface an appealing gleam as well as being very pleasant to touch. The underside shows the beautifully carved paws and the asymmetrical himotoshi, the larger one hollowed out to accommodate the knot. Signed within a polished reserve KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU.
The originality of the design, the treatment of the hairwork, the polish and overall quality of execution, leave no doubt as to the authenticity of the piece.
LENGTH 4.1 cm
Condition: Overall good and completely original condition. Two age cracks, one near the first kanji 'Kai' 懐 and the other just below the mouth. A small section of the tail has been re-attached.
Provenance: German private collection.
Auction comparison:
Only two other cats are known by the artist. Another crouching cat, formerly in the Hindson collection (illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, no. 132) was recently sold at Lucien Paris, 24 September 2015, lot 391 (hammered down at 45.500 EUR, excl. premium). The other is forever locked away in the LA County Museum, formerly in the Bushell collection, accession no. 1998.249.80.
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KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU: A MASTERFUL IVORY NETSUKE OF A WELL FED CROUCHING CAT
By Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1892), signed Kaigyokusai Masatsugu 懐玉齋正次
Japan, Osaka, mid to late 19th century
Published: Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part A, p. 294.
netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal, Vol. 12, no. 3, p. 13.
a masterful ivory netsuke bearing all the trademarks of an authentic netsuke by the Osaka master Kaigyokusai Masatsugu. A visibly well-fed cat, with amusingly bulky proportions, is shown crouching with its head lowered to the ground, the ears curiously laid back. It sports an enigmatic smile, flanked by finely incised whiskers, as it has spotted something near the ground. The subject may be a clever homage to the motif of the rat-catcher, as what the cat is actually looking for has landed on its back - a butterfly, finely carved from the same piece of ivory, its marking stippled and inked. The poor fat housecat is not a very good hunter! Perhaps it is also nearing the water to take a drink, and then it will spot the butterfly on its back in the reflection.
The eyes are characteristically double inlaid in reddish and dark horn. The hairwork is masterful, not a single stroke is misplaced, and the ivory is left largely unstained, smoothly polished, giving the surface an appealing gleam as well as being very pleasant to touch. The underside shows the beautifully carved paws and the asymmetrical himotoshi, the larger one hollowed out to accommodate the knot. Signed within a polished reserve KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU.
The originality of the design, the treatment of the hairwork, the polish and overall quality of execution, leave no doubt as to the authenticity of the piece.
LENGTH 4.1 cm
Condition: Overall good and completely original condition. Two age cracks, one near the first kanji 'Kai' 懐 and the other just below the mouth. A small section of the tail has been re-attached.
Provenance: German private collection.
Auction comparison:
Only two other cats are known by the artist. Another crouching cat, formerly in the Hindson collection (illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, no. 132) was recently sold at Lucien Paris, 24 September 2015, lot 391 (hammered down at 45.500 EUR, excl. premium). The other is forever locked away in the LA County Museum, formerly in the Bushell collection, accession no. 1998.249.80.
Automatically translated by DeepL. To see the original version, click here.
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Time, Location
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