228 - HO RAKUMIN: AN AMUSING WOOD NETSUKE OF SHOKI SEARCHING FOR AN ONI OJIME

HO RAKUMIN: AN AMUSING WOOD NETSUKE OF SHOKI SEARCHING FOR AN ONI OJIME By Ho Rakumin, signed Rakumin 乐民 Japan, Edo (Tokyo), mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved and stained as Shoki, the demon queller, leaning inquisitively over the rim of a deep cylindrical well, his powerful figure clad in voluminous robes and wearing his characteristic scholar's cap. His long beard and stern features are rendered with lively detail, while one arm rests across the rim as he peers intently into the hollow interior towards the oni-form ojime, which clings tightly to the suspension rope as though attempting to escape unnoticed beneath the demon queller. The reverse is carved with equal attention, showing the richly patterned folds of Shoki's robes and the sword at his belt. Signed RAKUMIN to one side. HEIGHT 4.2 cm (the netsuke) HEIGHT 1.7 cm (the ojime) Provenance: The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s register, recording the present lot as no. 79, 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, minor typical wear. Ho Rakumin (1804-1877) was born in Tsuchiura in Hitachi Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture). He received the honorary title Hogen and was, together with Hojitsu, one of the best netsuke carvers in Edo (Tokyo). Literature comparison: Compare a closely related wood netsuke of Shoki searching for an oni ojime by the same artist, signed Rakumin, illustrated in Lazarnick, George (1981), Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures (LNIA), Vol. 1, p. 473. Compare a closely related wood netsuke of Shoki searching for an oni ojime, by Hojitsu, illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A Comprehensive Study Based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 148, no. 441.