183 - A FINE ANTLER SASHI NETSUKE OF A WASP IN A DECAYING LOOFAH GOURD

A FINE ANTLER SASHI NETSUKE OF A WASP IN A DECAYING LOOFAH GOURD Inscribed Mitsuhiro (Koko) 光廣 Japan, 19 th century, Edo period (1615–1868) Published: Douglas J. K. Wright Ltd. (1976) A Netsuke Panorama, no. 75. Naturalistically carved from a long and gently curved section of antler as a decaying loofah gourd entwined by a leafy vine with curling tendrils. A large irregular cavity near one end reveals a superbly detailed wasp feeding within, its segmented abdomen, finely veined wings, and slender legs precisely rendered, the eyes inlaid in dark horn. Further gnawed and decayed openings pierce the gourd, exposing the dark porous core of the antler, the carver ingeniously exploiting the natural structure and variegated coloring of the material to heighten the illusion of rot. Several irregular openings to the reverse, serving as asymmetrical himotoshi. Inscribed to the side Mitsuhiro (Koko). LENGTH 14.7 cm Provenance: Ex-collection J. A. Fairley, no. 965. The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. Acquired at Glendining & Co., London, on 22 January 1953. With an old collection label ‘965’. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s register, recording the present lot as no. 168, 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 with minor wear and typical natural irregularities to the antler. The present netsuke was published by Douglas J. K. Wright as ‘Signed Mitsuhiro (later addition). Asakusa School. 19th century.’ While Wright already recognized the signature as a later addition, the distinctive modeling and treatment of the present carving appear more closely related to the so-called ‘Wasp Carvers,’ a loosely associated group of 19th-century carvers including Kogetsu, Sangetsu, Ichimin, and Gekko. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related antler sashi netsuke of a wasp feeding within a rotted gourd, signed Masakazu, illustrated in Lazarnick, George (1981), Netsuke & Inro Artists and How to Read Their Signatures (LNIA), Vol. I, p. 709. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related wood sashi netsuke of a wasp in a loofah gourd by Kogetsu, 14.8 cm long, at Bonhams, Mythes, Malice et Magie: La collection de netsuke et sagemono de Guy de Lasteyrie, 14 June 2023, Paris, lot 100 (sold for EUR 8,320 or approx. EUR 9,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).