SHIBAYAMA: A FINE LACQUERED AND INLAID IVORY MANJU NETSUKE DEPICTING CRANES AND CLOUDS

SHIBAYAMA: A FINE LACQUERED AND INLAID IVORY MANJU NETSUKE DEPICTING CRANES AND CLOUDS

By a member of the Shibayama family, signed Shibayama 芝山 saku 作
Japan, Tokyo, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Of rounded rectangular form, finely worked in lacquer, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell, to depict three red-crowned cranes flying among scrolling clouds. The interior with a looped cord attachment, a central himotoshi to the back. Signed SHIBAYAMA saku [made by Shibayama] on an inlaid tablet.

LENGTH 3.7 cm

Condition: Minuscule losses to inlaid clouds and lacquer losses to one crane. Overall presenting well.
Provenance: From an Italian private collection, acquired from Pierre-Eric Becker, Cannes, on 3 September 1996. Austrian private collection, acquired from the above. An old label to the interior and inscribed with a collector's number '92'. One old, inscribed label, '[…] signe Shibayama'.

Fuld's Netsuke and Ojime Index records only one manju netsuke of a group of cranes among clouds, inlaid with aogai and bekkou, by Shibayama, formerly in the W. L. Behrens collection, published in Joly, Henri L. (1912) The W. L. Behrens Collection, Part 1, Netsuke, no. 2587 (unillustrated). The catalog entry reads: “Ivory manju, inlaid in pearl and tortoise-shell with cranes and clouds, signed Shibayama”. This may very well be the same piece as the present lot.

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.