143 - HIDESADA: A FINE WOOD SHUNGA NETSUKE OF OKAME WITH TENGU MASK

HIDESADA: A FINE WOOD SHUNGA NETSUKE OF OKAME WITH TENGU MASK By Hidesada, signed Hidesada 秀貞 Japan, early 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: François Storno, Le Netzké Errant (Geneva, 2005), fig. 62. Finely and amusingly carved as Okame seated beside a long-nosed tengu mask, resting one hand pensively beneath her chin while the other reaches toward the dramatically projecting nose. Her rounded face is rendered with a joyful expression, the softly modeled features and neatly arranged hair contrasting with the sharply defined features of the mask. The long nose provides the unmistakable shunga allusion, serving as a humorous phallic symbol. Himotoshi to the back and signed underneath HIDESADA. HEIGHT 4.6 cm Provenance: Sotheby’s, Japanese Works of Art, 18 June 1993, New York, lot 114. François Storno Collection, acquired from the above. Christie’s, Japanese Art and Design and The François Storno Collection of Netsuke, 16 May 2007, London, lot 205. From a noted German private collection, Munich, Germany, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition with expected old wear and few natural age cracks.