International Netsuke Society Message Board

what is this artist?

christophe — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:06:37 GMT

hello can you tell me what is the name of the artist, I bought this Netsuke a jeweler who does not know the netsuke, is this a copy? This is ivory netsuke, the chick is moving
tank you

Forum: Modern Tourist Souvenir Netsuke

What are these please?

Gina6Kudo — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:35:06 GMT

Here is what little I know of these pieces. My Mom is now 71, she was given these items by her grandmother who inherited them from her Aunt. I don't really know what they are, but I married into a Japanese family almost three decades ago and they are similar to some items my in-laws have.

The two pieces together weigh a total of 2.6 grams. I will do my best to attach images to this post, while keeping within the sizes it appears you all prefer from reading other posts.

While these two creatures may not be netsuke, if anyone has any ideas of where I should start to research them further, I'd truly appreciate it. My Mom says all of the time; "I'd sure love to know what these are before I die." Gee, okay, thanks Mom! Anyway, I promised I'd look into them for her. I hope you all can help. Thanks so much! Gina

Forum: Non-netsuke Carvings

New to Forum but Have Questions regarding Netsuke

sprout46 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:57:54 GMT

I am entirely new to all of this... but through my late husband who was enlisted before WWII broke out and stayed in the service until 1964. He brought back alot of things from Japan.. Beautiful things, Jade, silk screen paintngs and some carvings. In particular this set here that I will attach some pictures of... his first wife would not let him sit them out at all as she felt they were evil.. They are packed away in their original container of balsa wood and Rice paper. They are the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.. All of them have what appears to be 3 S's or 3 Snakes on the bottom of them.. I have yet to find who carved these... Any help would greatly be appreciated....

Forum: Collector's Gallery

Gyokusho of Iwami

chonchon — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:04:04 GMT

Just wondering if anyone can add any detail about an Iwami carver named Gyokusho. (Not Iwami Gyokuko, and not Gyokuso)

I stumbled across a black Netsuke of a Minogame turtle on a piece of driftwood today and when I got home discovered the signature The name is listed in my Ito Ryoichi book; he is said to have signed but I am not sure how this should be read...Kawaika Mei... (?) and there is no further information. Thanks.

Forum: Netsuke Artists

Impact of live internet auctions

RAF — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:18:39 GMT

Just curious as to what the group might think about the impact of the current wide availability of live internet auctions on the price of netsuke. More and more medium/smaller auction houses seem to be joining the trend. My assessment: (1) cheap chinese imports have dropped way down, often being listed in groups of 5 to 10 for very low starting bids (2) the in between "non-junk, non-classic" netsuke (<$1000?) seem to be fairly strong and (3) the really good ones I cant say since I dont track them very much and they are a much smaller group. Certainly one result seems to be that the chances of stumbling over a "Duesenberg in a barn" find of a rare netsuke is getting close to zero.
Overall. I think it is a good trend because, if simply by osmosis, more auction viewers will be exposed to netsuke in their searches
Comments?

Forum: General Discussion

Is this a old netsuke ?

tati — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:24:17 GMT

I would like some help to date this netsuke ...

It's very small with 2.2 cm high.

thanks everybody.

Forum: Collector's Gallery

Help for a Noob with Netsuke ID

thatsmytiki — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:33:22 GMT

Hi All. I am new both to the site/forum and to collecting netsuke. I have always wanted to own one but never been able to find any that really appealed to me. This one I found today and fell in love with. It seems high quality to me but it may not be as good as I think. It is wooden but I dont knwo what sort. There is a signature on the piece.

It is Of a man feeding a turtle from a bowl, the turtle however has a shell which seems to morph into long hair or possibly water, so I wonder if this would be some form of water spirit or similar.

Anyway I love it but have no info about it or maker. Any info would be gratefully received as I have no provenance at all.

BTW it feels like its had some use. very smooth and darkened but the wood is lighter where you cant touch.

Not the best pics in the world but you can see the signature and you can sort of see most of the carving. sorry I have not turned one of the pics with the signature. hope you can read sideways!

Forum: Beginning Collecting

How many Netsuke do you reject?

chonchon — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:15:16 GMT

This morning I went to see a dealer who has a large collection of Netsuke and says his teacher is the top collector/expert in this part of the country.

"You want to see Netsuke?" he asks confidently and unzips a small bag. One by one he hands them to me, and one by I turn them round and then place them down. "These are all staghorn, because foreigners are not interested in ivory now", he says. (Oh, ...but this one here is definitely ivory.) He makes no mention of age and all my suspicion bells are ringing. I make no move to ask the prices, and he looks disappointed. To this man a question on the price means that you want it and are interested in buying it.

Then he asks: Are you interested in Ojime? Sure, I say. This one, he says in a low voice, handing me a large cream-colored ryusa Ojime with brass string-guides is "Sai-kaku" which I realize after a few moments means rhino horn. It looks of no great age, and this too has a feeling of stag horn to it. He wants me to agree on the high quality of the carving. I don't like it, but I desperately want to know how much he is charging. "15 Man" 150,000 JPY he confides. Hello, that's 1,600 US...

Well, to cut a long story short I rejected everything he showed me. Maybe it was something to do with the way he kept asking me what my budget was. 6,000 dollars? 40,000 dollars? This guy and his wife were doing everything wrong and I was glad to get away.

It was then that I started wondering how many Netsuke you might see and pass over before you actually purchase one?

If you include his 10 or 15, and the box of new ones I saw this morning at a different antiques sale, and the two black wood long-legged foreigner/Mongolians (modern fakes) then I must have seen 100 today alone, and I didn't buy even one Netsuke or Ojime.

So, to any new people I would say, please feel absolutely no pressure or hurry to buy one. And if you do, please regard it as a test run, and although it might be beautiful to you, be prepared for harsh-sounding comments from the members here, however they might hurt. Also at the same time be prepared to continue liking it, despite what people say. You saw something there, didn't you? Don't fall too quickly into self-loathing or an ebb-tide in confidence!

Forum: Beginning Collecting

horse with a ring netsuke

netsukelion — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:44:36 GMT

this is a beautiful ivory horse, my assessment is that this netsuke has been actually used. if you wold help with more information including artist and age.

would also like you openion about these other netsuke ,

Forum: Modern Tourist Souvenir Netsuke

Netsuke or okimono?

Direwolf — Thur, 15 Jul 2010 21:00:59 GMT

I picked up this carving a few months ago. It is walrus ivory and measures six inches tall. I guess it could be used as a netsuke if you strung it through the arms, but I think it is probably an okimono. I would love other opinions. It has been broken and glued back together and has two small pieces missing so I am sure it has little value. It is so nicely done I take it out of the case to admire quite often. Any ideas as to age? Thanks, Brandon.

Forum: General Discussion

two animal netsuke

netsukelion — Thur, 15 Jul 2010 11:59:01 GMT

here are two more netsuke i have, think they're made of bone (stained)

the camel has a signature on the bottom.

whould be glad for any further information about age, artist etc..

Forum: Modern Tourist Souvenir Netsuke

Forum glitch

fk — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:47:45 GMT

Is is just me, or is anyone else having trouble with the Masanao of Kyoto thread? I can get into the thread, but no posts are appearing.

Forum: General Discussion

Masanao of Kyoto?

Direwolf — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:43:38 GMT

Hello,

This is my first time here so bare with me if I mess up. I have always loved netsuke since I was about 6 when my mother first showed me the tall case filled with hundreds of them at the old de Young Museum in San Francisco. Since then I have collected many things but only recently started collecting netsuke after seeing that great collection once again at the Asian Art Museum when they recently re-opened. Last week I stopped by a local antique store and bought a beautiful monkey netsuke. When I got on line to see if I could translate the signature, I was surprised to find his name almost immediately Masanao. The patina looks great and it is obviously elephants ivory but I have found more than one Masanao in my research. It looks like it may be Masanao of Kyoto but the hands arent as well done as I have seen in carvings such as his rats and the himotoshi do not look typical of his work. Any information you folks could supply would be greatly appreciated. Regardless of who made the netsuke I love the piece and it is now my favorite in my small collection.

Forum: Netsuke Artists

My mother found this and just wanted to know more information about it.

Cryraxz — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:23:06 GMT

My mother found this old Netsuke and since i am studying the japanese lanuage gave it to me to try and find out what the writing on the back says but im having a hard time trying to figure it out, also i would like to know if its real and worth anything.

Its about 2 Inches by 1 Inch feel cold and very smooth to the touch.

Thank you

Forum: Modern Tourist Souvenir Netsuke

Need help from the experts regarding my first Netsuke.

dooleybois — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:07:07 GMT

Good Day all,

Ive been lurking here a bit trying to educate my self beyond my basic wiki knowledge before posting. As stated I would like to know anything about my little friend that you could tell me as I have not been able to locate much in regard to this form.

About myself, I have long appreciated Japanese culture and art, since first seeing a collection of netsuke and puzzle boxes my late Uncle possessed. I have always admired him and his collection, which he acquired in Japan in the late 50s and early 60s on business trips. I myself spent many months in Japan in the 80s while serving in the USN, but never had the means to acquire any pieces due to limited funds.

In regards to my little friend; He is approximately 4.25 cm tall by 4.5 wide. He is hollow and appears to be carved from perhaps bone or a tooth. I can only say that it is very hard and not Ivory or a cheap resin knock off. (Hot needle making no mark) The only other netsuke picture that I have seen with a base like this was from a sperm whale tooth but it was much larger. I am also very confused by the holes on the base and his head as I would think that it would suggest that a cord ran through him more like a ojime, but he has the requisite himotoshi on his back that say Netsuke.

I am also intrigued by the characters carved on the base and would love to know what they translated to and if they served any function like a stamp or seal of some sort. I know he is not in the best condition showing more than a bit of wear and could possibly stand some restoration but I have to say I really love him just the way he is. There is something whimsical in his expression, yet very wise at the same time. But then again that is probably just me seeing to much in a piece I love.

Any information you could provide would be most appreciated. TIA!

Forum: Modern Tourist Souvenir Netsuke