261 - GYOKKO: A RARE WOOD AND MIXED METAL NETSUKE OF A WOVEN FLOWER BASKET AND CICADA

GYOKKO: A RARE WOOD AND MIXED METAL NETSUKE OF A WOVEN FLOWER BASKET AND CICADA By Gyokko, signed Gyokko 玉江 Japan, 19 th century Finely carved in the form of a tall bamboo flower basket, the body meticulously worked throughout to simulate tightly interwoven strips of basketry, narrowing at the neck and rising to a slightly flared rim. Applied to one side is a large cicada, the wings crafted from silver and the body from patinated metal, naturalistically rendered with a finely detailed head and thorax and long wings neatly incised with veins. Himotoshi to the back and signed within an oval silver lacquer tablet GYOKKO. HEIGHT 4.5 cm Provenance: Collection of Mary Travers, New York, acquired in the early 1970s. Mary Travers (1936-2009) was the celebrated American folk singer and member of Peter, Paul and Mary, one of the defining groups of the American folk revival. Her estate reveals a discerning private interest in Japanese art, including a substantial group of netsuke as well as Japanese folding screens. Condition: Very good condition, minor wear and a tiny crack to the interior rim.