194 - HARUMITSU: A STRIKING WOOD NETSUKE OF A SNAKE

HARUMITSU: A STRIKING WOOD NETSUKE OF A SNAKE By Harumitsu (Shunko), signed Harumitsu 春光 Japan, Yamada, Ise province, mid-19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Barry Davies Oriental Art (1995), 100 Selected Pieces from The Netsuke Collection of Scott Meredith, no. 43. Powerfully carved, the snake’s lower coils pressed firmly against the ground while the forebody rises in a tense curve, the head held forward and poised to strike. The sinuous body is covered in superbly rendered, individually raised scales, contrasting with the smoothly polished areas and the broad, finely incised ventral scutes. Particularly striking is the deliberately uneven girth of the body, swelling markedly along the coils as though distended by a recent meal. The head is naturalistically modeled with finely detailed scales and a watchful expression, the pupils inlaid in black wood. Natural himotoshi and signed HARUMITSU to the underside within a polished oval reserve. LENGTH 4.3 cm Provenance: Ex-collection Leblanc. Ex-collection Scott Meredith, acquired from the above. Beaussant-Lefèvre, 20 November 2011, Paris, lot 293. French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition and presenting beautifully. A section of the lower body has been re-attached. Relatively little is known about Harumitsu, though he is generally considered to have worked within the Masanao lineage of Yamada in Ise province, while certain stylistic features also suggest affinities with the Tanba and Tsu schools. The present netsuke is particularly unusual in its conception: snakes in Yamada carving are more commonly arranged in compact, tightly coiled compositions, as seen in the closely related example by Masahiro, where the boldly raised scales are rendered almost identically. Here, by contrast, the snake is stretched into broad, irregular coils with the forepart raised and poised to strike, lending the carving a markedly more dynamic character. Literature comparison: For a closely related dark wood netsuke of a snake by the same artist, see Hurtig, B., Masterpieces of Netsuke Art, Tokyo and New York, 1973, pl. 699. Auction comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke of a snake, but preying on a frog, by the same artist, signed Harumitsu, 3.9 cm long, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 8 November 2024, Vienna, lot 121 (sold for EUR 6,500). Compare also a related wood netsuke of a coiled snake by Masahiro, 3 cm high, at Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 14 June 2024, Vienna, lot 459 (sold for EUR 4,290).