229 - HO RYOMIN: AN EBONY NETSUKE OF JIZO BOSATSU AND AN ONI WRESTLING ON A LOTUS LEAF

HO RYOMIN: AN EBONY NETSUKE OF JIZO BOSATSU AND AN ONI WRESTLING ON A LOTUS LEAF By Ho Ryomin, signed Ho Ryomin 鴇 陵民 with kakihan Japan, Edo (Tokyo), second half of 19 th century Well carved as Jizo and an oni engaged in a dynamically rendered wrestling match atop a circular lotus leaf with neatly incised and raised veins. Central himotoshi to the underside, which also shows the signature HO RYOMIN with kakihan. HEIGHT 2.6 cm, DIAMETER 3.4 cm Provenance: The Gabor Wilhelm Collection, Paris. Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 29 October 2021, Vienna, lot 201. French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition with minor wear and an old small chip to the edge of the base. Jizo is a bodhisattva, patron of deceased children and has the ability to open the gates of hell. He is typically shown wrestling on top of a lotus leaf with some of the inhabitants of hell, be it a Nio, a gaki, Emma-o, or as in this case an oni. Ho Ryomin (born 1833) was a pupil of Ho Rakumin and had many pupils. Literature comparison: A closely related wood netsuke by Rakumin is illustrated in Coullery, Marie-Thérèse and Newstead, Martin S. (1977) The Baur Collection, p. 78, no. C 91; and another by Hojitsu is illustrated with a line drawing in Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part A, p. 172.