109 - Ɏ A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF A SNAKE PREYING ON A FROG, ATTRIBUTED TO KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU

Ɏ A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF A SNAKE PREYING ON A FROG, ATTRIBUTED TO KAIGYOKUSAI MASATSUGU Attributed to the workshop of Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (1813-1892), unsigned Japan, Osaka, c. 1850-1870 Exquisitely carved and finely stained, depicting a large hebi (snake) coiled tightly around a hapless frog. The serpent’s powerful body forms a dense, compact mass, its overlapping scales meticulously rendered throughout and contrasting with the neatly incised ventral scutes. Raising its head dramatically above the coils, the snake opens its jaws to reveal rows of minute teeth and a separately carved, flickering tongue, while the frog peers helplessly from between the constricting loops. The eyes are inlaid in dark horn. The tightly interwoven bodies create a bold and highly sculptural composition, animated by the tension between predator and prey. Natural himotoshi. HEIGHT 3.1 cm, LENGTH 3.6 cm Condition: Excellent condition with only a tiny loss to the staining at the tip of the separately carved tongue. Kaigyokusai Masatsugu was one of the most celebrated Osaka netsuke carvers of the 19th century, renowned for the extraordinary naturalism and technical refinement of his animal carvings. The snake was among the subjects particularly well suited to his virtuoso approach, allowing him to combine minute surface detail with densely compressed, powerfully sculptural compositions. Several closely related variants of the present model are known from Masatsugu and his circle, including examples pairing the snake with a frog and, in another variation, a monkey. The present subject alludes to the sansukumi motif, literally ‘mutual restraint’ or ‘mutual control’, in which snake, frog, and snail form a circular chain of vulnerability. The snake devours the frog, the frog consumes the snail, and the snail in turn represents danger to the snake. Although the snail itself is not depicted here, the confrontation between snake and frog would have evoked this familiar triad, lending the dramatic struggle an additional layer of wit and symbolic tension. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a snake preying on a frog by Kaigyokusai Masatsugu, signed Masatsugu, 2.2 cm high, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke, Sagemono & Okimono, 24 November 2018, Vienna, lot 16 (sold for EUR 13,904). Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of a snake preying on a frog, unsigned and attributed to Kaigyokusai Masatsugu, 3.9 cm high, see Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 4 November 2022, Vienna, lot 25 (sold for EUR 7,150). For a variant of this model with a monkey instead of the frog, also unsigned and attributed to the workshop of Kaigyokusai Masatsugu, 4 cm long, see Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 8 May 2026, Vienna, lot 160 (sold for EUR 13,000). Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number 2025/BE04232/CE). 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.