235 - NAKANO SOYA: A FINE SO SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF EBISU WITH A SEA BREAM

NAKANO SOYA: A FINE SO SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF EBISU WITH A SEA BREAM By Nakano Soya, signed Soya 藻也 Japan, Tokyo, late 19 th to early 20 th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Finely carved as Ebisu kneeling beneath the weight of an enormous sea bream (tai) carried across his back and secured by a rope, which he grasps firmly in one hand. The God of Fishermen wears voluminous robes finely incised with floral designs, his face rendered with a contented yet slightly strained expression, and his characteristic eboshi inlaid in ebony. The massive fish curves closely around his back, its scales, fins, and gills delicately incised, while a fundo weight rests between Ebisu’s feet. Natural himotoshi and signed SOYA to the underside of the fundo. HEIGHT 3.5 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Nakano Soya is listed as entry 1115 in the Netsuke Handbook of Ueda Reikichi. His real name was Nakano Genshiro, and he lived and worked in Kawasaki City. He was a pupil of Miyazaki Joso (1835-1910), the founder of the important So school in Tokyo. and was active during the late 19th and early 20th century. Museum comparison: Compare a near-identical wood netsuke by the same artist, 3.7 cm high, in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, museum no. ЯР-1241.