178 - A FINE NAGOYA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A COILED RAT

A FINE NAGOYA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A COILED RAT Unsigned Japan, Nagoya, c. 1830-1840, Edo period (1615-1868) An ideally compact and finely carved wood netsuke depicting a rat tightly coiled into a ball, one forepaw grasping the thick base of its sinuous tail while the bony hind paws cover its nose. The fur is neatly incised and the tail finely detailed. The large eyes are inlaid in lustrous dark horn. Asymmetrical himotoshi to the underside. LENGTH 3.4 cm Provenance: The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. Purchased from Norton in April 1952. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s register, recording the present lot as no. 40, 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: Very good condition with minor wear and with an old scratch below the tail. The coiled rat is among the most ingenious compact designs in netsuke carving, its tightly contained form allowing the artist to balance naturalism with the practical demands of a tactile object. The subject was treated with particular success by carvers of the Nagoya and Yamada schools. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related Nagoya school wood netsuke of a coiled rat with similar bony paws, by Ittan, 2.9 cm high, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 28 April 2023, Vienna, lot 77 (sold for EUR 4,160 or approx. EUR 4,600 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).