Antique
Japanese Ivory Netsuke
Blind
Travelers
Crossing River
Netsuke
Signature: Tomotada, 18th Century
H 1 in.(2.5cm), W 1.25 in.(3cm), D 0.5 in.(1.25cm)
Condition: possible
losses, o.a. very good Three
blind travelers, one of them a musician, cross a river in untroubled collective
movement, their faces reflecting contentment, even joy, as inward vision sustains
them in the perilous environment of an unseen world. Together they cross the water
that flows in rhythmic swirls beneath their feet. The ivory is cream colored with
age patina; carved from the near-center of the tusk tip, it is dense and close-grained,
with vivid detail on a surface which has developed an unctuous sheen showing burnished
glossy highlights. Himotoshi on the bottom and through the leg of one of the figures.
Possible loss to the hand of the musician, which may have held an object. Signature
in an oval cartouche: Tomotada.
Private Collection |  | Tomotada
was immensely celebrated in his own time, widely admired for his works depicting
animals, and is one of only 54 netsukeshi noted in the Soken Kisho, an 18th Century
record which describes him as carving animals and figures. The wear of handling
and the patina on the work support the dating to the 18th Century. The subject
is not a popular one, hence it is unlikely that copies exist. Additionally, the
piece is related to the Tomotada netsuke in Bushell’s Collector’s Netsuke, (illus.
#13) in which the treatment of face and robes strongly evoke the same hand. The
figures stand on a platform, a device utilized by Tomotada to support a complex
grouping. Finally, the small size of this netsuke and the skill required to create
it in all its minute detail confirm the genuine mastery of Tomotada of Kyoto school,
real name Izumiya Shichiemon, active before 1781.
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