72 - MASANOBU: AN AMUSING HIDEMASA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A BLIND MASSEUR AND FUGU

MASANOBU: AN AMUSING HIDEMASA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A BLIND MASSEUR AND FUGU By Masanobu, signed Masanobu 正信 to 刀 Japan, Osaka, first half of the 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved and stained, humorously depicting a blind masseur (anma) clinging to an enormous fugu, his sightless eyes tightly shut and his face contorted in a comical grimace as both hands feel their way across the fish’s broad back. The bulbous fugu is finely rendered with densely stippled skin, neatly incised fins and tail, and inlaid eyes. The compact, rounded composition is particularly tactile in conception. Two asymmetrical himotoshi underneath, the larger hole generously excavated to accommodate the knot, and signed MASANOBU to [carved by Masanobu]. LENGTH 4.2 cm Provenance: The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. Purchased from Glendining & Co on 6 June 1952. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s register, recording the present lot as no. 71, accompanies the lot. Dorothy Ann Stevens was a collector of Japanese art active during the mid-twentieth century. The wife of the chemist, artist, and collector Henry Potter Stevens (1875–1965), she formed an extensive collection of netsuke, inro, and smoking accessories, with netsuke representing a particular focus of her collecting. Carefully documented and scholarly studied, the collection was maintained independently, with individual inventory numbers assigned to all her acquisitions. Many of these were purchased on the London art market during the 1940s and 1950s and included works with distinguished earlier provenances. Dorothy and Henry maintained closely related but distinct collections and occasionally exchanged objects between them, Henry's interests being particularly associated with inro and hers with netsuke. Preserved within the Stevens family for more than half a century, her collection constitutes a significant and well-documented record of the collecting and study of Japanese miniature arts in the mid-twentieth century. Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear. The subject is remarkably rare and inventive. The conceit recalls the ancient parable of the blind men examining an elephant, in which each understands the animal solely through touch; here, however, the elephant is replaced by an enormous fugu, a fish celebrated as much for its delicacy as for its potentially deadly poison. Auction comparison Compare a closely related wood netsuke of Ebisu on a fugu, attributed to Hidemasa, dated early 19 th century, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 3 November 2023, Vienna, lot 166 (sold for EUR 3,120).