94 - Ɏ TOMOTADA: AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE IVORY NETSUKE OF A RECUMBENT DROMEDARY

Ɏ TOMOTADA: AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE IVORY NETSUKE OF A RECUMBENT DROMEDARY By Tomotada, signed Tomotada 友忠 Japan, Kyoto, late 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Powerfully and compactly carved as a recumbent dromedary, its limbs folded tightly beneath and against the massive body. The long neck rises in a graceful curve to the lifted head, sensitively rendered with large alert eyes inlaid with dark horn pupils, a prominent horn, flaring nostrils, small folded ears, and a gently smiling mouth. The broad shoulder and rounded haunches are modeled with an almost monumental sense of volume; the prominent single hump is edged by a deeply notched fringe of shaggy hair, while the long tail, finely incised in parallel strands, curls closely around the right hindquarter. The short coat was originally rendered in fine incision and heightened with sumi, as demonstrated by the crisp hairwork preserved in the protected recesses beneath the body. Generations of handling have mellowed the exposed surfaces to a superbly smooth, warm honey-yellow polish, yet the carving has lost none of its remarkable bulk, expressive character, or irresistible charm. The underside with large, generously excavated asymmetrical himotoshi, one characteristically interrupting the edge of the rectangular reserve, boldly and confidently incised TOMOTADA. LENGTH 5.8 cm Provenance: Tessier & Sarrou et Associés, Paris, 16 December 2013, lot 262. French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Very good condition with old wear, several natural age cracks and typical traces of use. Camels rank among the rarest subjects in early netsuke. The few recorded examples generally present the exotic animal standing on an integral base or within a narrative group accompanied by a Dutchman; independent recumbent studies from late eighteenth-century Kyoto are virtually unrecorded. Two tantalizing precedents are listed under Masanao of Kyoto, Tomotada’s great contemporary and fellow master of animal carving: one in L’Art japonais: Catalogue de la collection J. Titsingh à La Haye, 12 April 1893, no. 417, and another in Henri L. Joly’s W.L. Behrens Collection, vol. I, Netsuke, no. 2823. Neither was illustrated. Against this remarkably sparse record, the present work stands as a singular masterpiece of the Kyoto school. Its bold, compact volume, assured modeling, and sympathetic animal character are entirely in keeping with Tomotada’s finest works, while the signature is confidently cut within his customary rectangular reserve, with one himotoshi characteristically interrupting its edge. The extensive wear bears witness to generations of appreciation and has only enhanced the netsuke’s tactile warmth, leaving its remarkable mass, personality, and charm wholly intact. Auction comparison: Compare a related ivory netsuke of a goat and kid, displaying similarly distinctive facial features and finely incised fur, by the same artist, signed Tomotada, 5.2 cm long, at Christie’s, Paris, 19 November 2003, lot 99 (sold for EUR 38,775 or approx. EUR 57,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number FR2607505238-K). 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.