Very Unusual Carved Ivory Netsuke - $650

The closest comparable I can find is a similarly themed netsuke pictured on Page 244 in Veleanu's Netsuke, of a monkey on top of a skull. It is estimated at $2500.00.

The Lion (Shi-Shi) is not indigenous to China or Japan. Thus lion representations in netsuke carvings are fired by the carvers' imaginations. The image was imported from ancient China in the form of the Chinese lion (kara shishi) that resembles a Pekinese dog. It is commonly known as the Foo Lion or Foo Dog. Kara Shishi are seen guarding the entrances of Buddhist and Shinto temples.

REFERENCES: Netsuke by F. M. Jones, published by Tuttle; Netsuke by Mircea Veleanu, published by Schiffer.        

Luckily these extreme examples are easier to spot. He's got big cojones to write so 'creatively' and at such length, though.

I actually got an e-mail from this seller and she was not convinced that the Veleanu book on netsuke was full of junk. She dropped some names of dealers she has trusted and one of her expert auction houses listed was Chait, "know for the exquisite ivories and expertise". I did tell her Sotheby's no longer handles netsuke since she mentioned them. I recommended some books. Even sent her a pic of my Mitsuharu shishi so she could see what an authentic shishi might look like. Pretty sure I wasted my time.

Vlad, I did mention the web site Forum. Don't be surprised if we never see her here. I think the important lesson for beginners is that there are a lot of general antique dealers out there who really do think they know something about netsuke and will argue with you to the end, all the while dropping "big names" (some of which we've discredited) and citing books like the Veleanu monstrosity to support their case. They can sound very convincing when they tell you they've been in business for 35 years (as in this case) and collecting for 50 years. Most people would have a hard time imagining that after all that time the seller might still not know what they are talking about when it comes to this specialized area of collecting.

Has no one noticed that this 'netsuke' is resin you can still see the evidence of file marks on the base,

Tsuho, the file marks are obvious and I think people just didn't get into any of the details of this obviously bad piece. But why do the file marks distinguish it as resin. Oh, and by the way, WELCOME to the Forum! Looking forward to more posts from you and wondering if you just now "discovered" the Forum or have been looking for a while.