56 - Ɏ A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF SEIOBO, ATTRIBUTED TO SANKO

Ɏ A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF SEIOBO, ATTRIBUTED TO SANKO Attributed to Sanko, unsigned Japan, Osaka, late 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Superbly carved as Seiobo (Xiwangmu), the Queen Mother of the West, standing in an elegant and commanding pose, one arm raised gracefully above her head and the other lowered before the body. Her long robes fall in deeply undercut, voluminous folds and are richly embellished with scrolling and geometric borders and finely incised textile patterns. Two peaches of immortality hang prominently at the front, identifying the deity. Her serene face is sensitively modeled with downcast eyes and a composed expression, framed by large earrings and an elaborate coiffure surmounted by a finely carved headdress. The reverse is worked with equal refinement, the cascading sleeves and layered garments deeply carved and extensively detailed with sumi-stained incision work, while the hair is arranged in prominent coils at the back of the head. Asymmetrical himotoshi to the reverse. The ivory of an attractive warm yellow to honey tone with a fine patina. HEIGHT 8.5 cm Provenance: From a noted German private collection, Munich, Germany. Condition: Excellent condition with minor expected wear and a few natural age cracks. Sanko (三小) was one of the most distinguished Osaka netsuke carvers of the 18th century and is among the artists recorded in Inaba Tsuryu’s Soken Kisho, published in 1781, where his exceptional technical ability is specifically praised. His signature is comparatively rare, and several of the most celebrated netsuke associated with his style are unsigned. Foremost among them is the legendary ‘Meinertzhagen Kirin,’ one of the best-known netsuke in the history of the field, famously illustrated as the color frontispiece to the Meinertzhagen Card Index and later the subject of dedicated scholarship. Equally indicative of the stature accorded to Sanko is the unsigned wood netsuke of a kirin riding a cloud from the Joseph and Elena Kurstin Collection, regarded by specialist consensus as a work by Sanko and sold at Bonhams New York in 2022 for USD 441,375, at the time establishing a world record for a netsuke. Seiobo, the Japanese name for the Chinese Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, was a popular subject in premodern Japanese art. She was believed to inhabit the mythical paradise of Mount Kunlun, where the peaches of immortality ripened only once every three thousand years and bestowed longevity or immortality upon those permitted to eat them. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of Seiobo by the same artist, signed Sanko, illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974), Netsuke: A Comprehensive Study Based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 18, no. 9. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of Seiobo by the same artist, signed Sanko, 7.6 cm high, formerly in the Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession no. M.91.250.117. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of Seiobo by the same artist, inscribed Tametaka and attributed to Sanko, 8 cm high, at Bonhams, The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke, Part I, 8 November 2016, London, lot 16 (sold for GBP 6,875 or approx. EUR 10,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Trade Certificate: In accordance with new EU regulations that went into effect in January 2022, we have applied for a certificate to sell this item within the EU. We expect the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology to issue the certificate in 2-3 weeks. The item can only be shipped / handed over once the certificate has been issued. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.