245 - A RARE AND AMUSING ANTLER SASHI NETSUKE OF TENAGA STRETCHING AND YAWNING

A RARE AND AMUSING ANTLER SASHI NETSUKE OF TENAGA STRETCHING AND YAWNING Unsigned Japan, late 18 th-early 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Amusingly carved from a naturally elongated section of antler as Tenaga, the legendary long-armed man, seated with his knees drawn tightly to his chest while stretching his impossibly attenuated arms high above his head, the hands clasped together at the apex. The tiny, compressed body forms a wonderfully absurd contrast with the soaring arms, an effect brilliantly enhanced by the natural shape of the antler. His head is thrust forward in an enormous yawn, the mouth opened into a cavernous ‘O’ beneath bulging eyes with horn-inlaid pupils, giving the figure an irresistibly comic and almost theatrical expression. The boldly carved face and extreme proportions lend the netsuke remarkable character and sculptural presence. The natural hollow of the antler plugged underneath and with natural himotoshi. HEIGHT 11.5 cm Provenance: Ex-collection Frank Lapisch. Ex-collection Herbert Hohenadel, Munich, acquired from the above. From a noted German private collection, Munich, Germany, acquired from the above in 2010. Frank Lapisch (1934-2002) was a German entrepreneur and dedicated netsuke collector who first traveled to Japan in 1960 as a German judo champion. He later founded the Tokyo-based electronics firm Alltec in 1972 while deepening his engagement with Japanese art and craftsmanship. From the late 1970s onward, he pursued the study and acquisition of netsuke with increasing discernment, carefully documenting purchases made at auction houses such as Lempertz and Klefisch. He showed a particular preference for early "ur-netsuke," prized for their expressive carving and richly developed surface wear. Condition: Excellent condition. The present netsuke transforms Tenaga’s defining physical characteristic into an ingenious visual joke. His already legendary arms are stretched to almost absurd length, while the compact crouching body seems compressed beneath them. The enormous yawn, bulging eyes, and tightly clasped hands heighten the sense of exaggerated bodily effort, giving the figure an unusually immediate and humorous character. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related antler obihasami netsuke of Tenaga catching an octopus, the diminutive, hunched figure similarly conceived with grotesquely elongated arms extending almost the entire length of the carving, 14.6 cm high, in the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, Trumpf Collection, inventory number OA 18674. The striking similarities in material, highly elongated vertical conception, exaggerated anatomy, and humorous treatment of the figure strongly suggest that the present unsigned netsuke is by the same hand.