108 - Ɏ A FINE AND AMUSING IVORY NETSUKE OF A MONKEY RIDING A HARE, CIRCLE OF GARAKU

Ɏ A FINE AND AMUSING IVORY NETSUKE OF A MONKEY RIDING A HARE, CIRCLE OF GARAKU Circle of Risuke Garaku, unsigned Japan, Osaka, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved and delicately stained with sumi, depicting a well-fed hare seated firmly on its haunches, its forepaws resting before it and its head raised with a gentle, alert expression. A mischievous monkey clings tightly to its back, grasping one of the hare’s long ears while biting into the other, its legs wrapped securely around the animal’s rounded haunches. Both animals are covered in dense, naturalistically incised fur heightened with dark staining, contrasting attractively with the smoothly polished ears, hands, feet, and muzzles. The hare’s large, lively eyes are inlaid in lustrous dark horn, while the monkey peers animatedly from behind. The compact and superbly balanced composition is imbued with lively movement and gentle humor, the ivory bearing a fine, warm yellowish patina. Himotoshi to the back and underside. LENGTH 3.5 cm Provenance: Collection Otto Heinrich Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and thence by descent in the family. Otto Heinrich Noetzel (1909-1987) was a distinguished German music publisher, collector, and author with a particular scholarly interest in netsuke. A grandson of Adalbert Heinrichshofen, he directed the family publishing house Heinrichshofen’s Verlag for many decades while building an important netsuke collection. He published Netsuke: ihre Geschichte, ihre Meister, ihre Motive in 1974, followed by Netsuke: Geschichte, Meister, Motive in 1981 and Yakimono-Netsuke: Netsuke aus Porzellan und Ton in 1985, illustrating works from his own collection and establishing it as a valuable scholarly reference. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and expected age cracks. The unusual pairing of the monkey and hare may be understood either as a playful animal contest or as an imaginative zodiac pairing, since both animals belong to the twelve signs of the East Asian zodiac. The composition also recalls the popular legends of Kintaro, in which the child hero presides over wrestling matches between the animals of the mountains, including the monkey and hare. Here, the monkey’s energetic pose astride the placid hare gives the group an especially humorous and animated character. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a hare and monkey by Garaku, 5.2 cm high, illustrated in Sagemonoya (2004), Ninety-Nine Netsuke & One Inro, pp. 60-61, no. 83. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a seated hare, unsigned and described as Kyoto style but likely belonging to the same Osaka milieu associated with Garaku, 5 cm long, at Christie’s, Netsuke & Lacquer from the Japanese Department of Eskenazi, 17 November 1999, London, lot 76 (sold for GBP 6,900 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Compare also a closely related ivory netsuke of a seated monkey, signed Garaku, 3.8 cm high, at Christie’s, Netsuke & Lacquer from the Japanese Department of Eskenazi, 17 November 1999, London, lot 72 (sold for GBP 4,830 or approx. EUR 11,000 converted and 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 DE-K-260427-174). 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.