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Umimatsu & Kigai
Netsuke
Crab
Catching Bug
On Lotus Root
Netsuke Signature: Tetsusen, early 20th
century
H
1.75 in.(4.5cm.), W 0.5 in.(1.25cm.), D 0.5 in.(1.25cm.)
Condition: good, small age crack A
fine example of the charm and inventiveness of the tradition of netsuke. Here
the artist has taken an interest in events occurring on a lotus root. A crab has
spied a juicy insect and stretches out a large claw, preparing to strike. The
insect has paused in its descent down the section of root; perhaps it has sensed
the danger. The tiny scene is impeccably carved, the insect’s body made of inlaid
horn and the eyes of both creatures of inlaid black coral umimatsu. In dense cream
colored ivory; the surface bearing a silky finish, with engraving for the details
of the crab, the holes in the bottom of the plant and the fibres on the sheath
of the root, distinctive in the contrasting colors of coral and amber, the unusual
structure, diminutive size and fine artistry. Signed on a mother of pearl reserve
on the bottom: Tetsusen. Sold
To Private Collection |  |
