Unknown sage, signed by Masatsugu, ca. 1900, 5 ¾ inches high, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA.
Dragon ship with small figures on the deck, wooden frame, Nineteenth Century, 27 3/4 inches long; private collection, United Kingdom.
The sacred monkey Songoku on a chestnut. In Japanese myth, Songoku wards off the forces of evil and aids priests. Ivory, unsigned, Nineteenth Century, 1.6 inches; private collection, United States.
Tennin, a female Buddhist angel typically portrayed floating in clouds. Ivory, signed Minkoku, Nineteenth Century, 1.5 inches high. Minkoku was a favorite carver of the American netsuke collector Mark Hindson, who was active in the late 1940s and 1950s. The Tennin first appears in the Indian sutras; they live in heaven. Tennins typically carry a lotus blossom (symbolic of enlightenment), are elaborately dressed and wear copious jewelry.
Westerner portrayed as an Ashinga. Ivory, signed by Rakusai, 5.51 inches high. Nineteenth Century, private collection, United States. The Ashinga were a mythological race in ancient Japanese folklore. They were characterized by long legs. But the Ashinga had short arms. They lived next to another race called Tenaga. The Tenaga had long arms but short legs. Raku was the name of an important kiln manufacturer in Nineteenth Century Japan.
The nine-tailed fox Tamamo no Mae, ivory, 2.3 inches high; signed Kikugawa Toun Saku. This signature is the name of a school of netsuke carvers. Private collection, Canada. Tamamo no Maye, in Japanese myth, was a woman combined with a fox. She was a werefox who nearly killed the Emperor Toba before she was discovered and destroyed. This netsuke is in the
Three blind men fighting, Ivory, signed Ikkosai, 1.4 inches high; Nineteenth Century, private collection, Great Britain. In Japanese myth, the three blind men fight each other because each wrongly thinks the other is a robber. The blind in ancient Japan were often moneylenders. The netsuke carver Ikkosai was renowned for his sensitive portraits.
Group of Netsuke: Minitani: Ama with octopus; Masaka: kyohime, oni. (ca. 1850); Heights: 1 inch to 3 2/5 inches; private collection, United States.
Group of Netsuke: Masatsugu, Sleeping Boar; Masanao; Tigers; Masayoshi: Goat; Masatsugu: Monkeys; Shiratama: Dragon; (ca. 1900); heights: 1 ½ inches to 4 inches; private collection, United States.
Masatoshi (Nakamura Tokisada) (Japan, Tokyo, 1915 - 2001-01-30) Baku: Monster that Eats Nightmares, (ca. 1900) Netsuke, Ivory with staining, sumi, 2 11/16 x 1 7/8 x 1 1/8 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California.
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