102 - Ɏ OKAKOTO: A CHARMING KYOTO SCHOOL IVORY NETSUKE OF A PUPPY LICKING ITS PAW

Ɏ OKAKOTO: A CHARMING KYOTO SCHOOL IVORY NETSUKE OF A PUPPY LICKING ITS PAW By Yamaguchi Okakoto, signed Okakoto 岡言 Japan, Kyoto, late 18 th to early 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Bandini, Luigi (1986) Browsing at the Auctions, Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal, vol. 6, no. 3, p. 29. Of attractively small and compact form, finely carved as a plump puppy seated on its haunches, raising one hind leg and lowering its head to lick the paw, the tiny tongue delicately extended. The rounded body, short folded ears, and tightly curled tail are arranged into a pleasingly compact composition, enlivened by dark horn-inlaid eyes and a wonderfully absorbed expression. The coat is rendered throughout with minute incised and sumi-stained hairwork, while the paws and facial features are carefully articulated. The ivory has acquired a fine warm honey-yellow patina. Natural himotoshi through the limbs. Signed underneath one foot within a square reserve OKAKOTO. HEIGHT 2.6 cm, LENGTH 2.7 cm Provenance: Christie’s, 25 June 1986, New York, lot 50 (sold for USD 3,520 or approx. EUR 9,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). From a noted French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Excellent condition. Minor wear and only very few expected natural age cracks. Yamaguchi Okakoto was the younger brother and pupil of Yamaguchi Okatomo, one of the leading masters of the Kyoto school. His oeuvre is considerably rarer than that of Okatomo and other members of the Oka school, yet his finest works display the same refined naturalism, compact sculptural conception, and meticulous surface treatment for which the family is celebrated. Okakoto carved puppies and dogs in several different poses, but the present subject appears to be particularly rare: no other recorded ivory example by the artist appears to depict a puppy in precisely this intimate act of licking its raised paw. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a puppy by the same artist, signed Okakoto, dated late 18th century, 3 cm high, illustrated in Bandini, Rosemary (2001) Expressions of Style, Netsuke as Art, Scholten Japanese Art, New York, p. 95, no 118. Compare a related ivory netsuke of a dog with ball and a similarly lowered head by the same artist, signed Okakoto, 3.5 cm high, illustrated in Christie’s, An Important European Collection of Netsuke, 14 November 2001, London, lot 39. Auction comparison: Compare a related ivory netsuke of two puppies, by the artist’s older brother Okatomo, the carving of similar size (3.6 cm long) and similarly stained, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 7 November 2025, Vienna, lot 121 (sold for EUR 9,100). Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number IT/CE/2024/MI/00298). 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.