127 - GYOKUMIN: A FINE INLAID WOOD NETSUKE OF A KAPPA CAUGHT IN A CLAM

GYOKUMIN: A FINE INLAID WOOD NETSUKE OF A KAPPA CAUGHT IN A CLAM By Jugyokusai Gyokumin, signed Gyokumin 玉民 with kakihan Japan, Edo (Tokyo), mid- to late 19 th century Finely carved as a kappa attempting to climb over a large hamaguri clam, one foot caught between its closing shells. The creature’s grotesquely amusing expression is heightened by double-inlaid eyes and a mouth drawn into a comically distressed grimace. The clam is finely polished, its hinge beautifully inlaid with shimmering purple and orange mother-of-pearl, contrasting with the meticulously worked surface of the kappa. The carapace is rendered with exceptional precision, while the exposed limbs and body are covered in neatly arranged ukibori pimples. Himotoshi underneath and signed GYOKUMIN with kakihan. The artist was a pupil of Komin. LENGTH 3.2 cm Provenance: Sotheby’s, Japanese Paintings, Prints and Works of Art, 16-17 June 1994, London, lot 214. French private collection, acquired from the above. Piasa, 1-2 June 1999, Paris, lot 474. From a French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related inlaid wood netsuke of kappa caught in a clam by the same artist, signed Gyokumin with kakihan, illustrated in in Lazarnick, George (1981) Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures (LNIA), Vol. 1, p. 426. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related inlaid netsuke depicting the same subject, by Komin, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 16 May 2013, London, lot 38 (sold for GBP 4,375 or approx. EUR 7,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).