130 - A VERY RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF A TSUCHIGUMO (EARTH SPIDER) SKULL

A VERY RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF A TSUCHIGUMO (EARTH SPIDER) SKULL Unsigned Japan, first half of the 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Powerfully carved as a grotesque skull with an enlarged cranium, immense rounded eye sockets, pierced nasal cavity, prominent cheekbones, and two conspicuous fang-like teeth. The irregular surface is finely worked with pits, grooves, and ukibori to convincingly evoke aged bone. The fantastic proportions and exaggerated fangs subtly transform the seemingly human skull into something distinctly monstrous. Natural himotoshi. LENGTH 3.6 cm Provenance: The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. Acquired at Glendining & Co., London, 2 April 1957, lot 19, and recorded in the collector’s register as no. 365. A copy of the corresponding entry, describing the present netsuke as a “skull of an octopus,” accompanies the lot. Dorothy Ann Stevens was a collector of Japanese art active during the mid-twentieth century. The wife of the chemist, artist, and collector Henry Potter Stevens (1875–1965), she formed an extensive collection of netsuke, inro, and smoking accessories, with netsuke representing a particular focus of her collecting. Carefully documented and scholarly studied, the collection was maintained independently, with individual inventory numbers assigned to all her acquisitions. Many of these were purchased on the London art market during the 1940s and 1950s and included works with distinguished earlier provenances. Dorothy and Henry maintained closely related but distinct collections and occasionally exchanged objects between them, Henry's interests being particularly associated with inro and hers with netsuke. Preserved within the Stevens family for more than half a century, her collection constitutes a significant and well-documented record of the collecting and study of Japanese miniature arts in the mid-twentieth century. Condition: Excellent condition. The present netsuke represents an exceptionally rare and imaginative subject: the fantastic skull of a tsuchigumo, or ‘earth spider’. The identification is strongly supported by the immense orbital cavities and two prominent fangs, which closely correspond to Katsushika Hokusai’s depiction of the tsuchigumo, shown with enormous staring eyes and a pair of projecting fangs as it is subdued by Hirai Yasumasa. The connection between the monster and skulls is particularly apt: in the medieval Tsuchigumo Soshi, Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Watanabe no Tsuna pursue a flying skull before ultimately slaying the giant spider, whose body is found to contain numerous human skulls. The present carver ingeniously reverses this macabre imagery, imagining the skeletal remains of the spider monster itself.