268 - A FINE AND RARE UMIMATSU OF A DRIED SALMON (HIMONO) HEAD

A FINE AND RARE UMIMATSU OF A DRIED SALMON (HIMONO) HEAD Unsigned Japan, 18 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Masterfully carved from an exceptionally fine section of umimatsu, the dried salmon head rendered with a strikingly naturalistic treatment of the bony structure, hollowed mouth, and neatly incised scales. The tapering form of the salmon's head is particularly well suited to the organic structure of the material, revealing numerous richly reddish-brown inclusions and contrasting dark veins characteristic of fine umimatsu. One himotoshi is pierced to the side, the other formed naturally through the hollowed cavity beneath the fish's head. LENGTH 5.5 cm Provenance: The Dorothy Ann Stevens Collection of Fine Netsuke & Inro, formed between the 1940s and 1960s. Purchased from Glendining & Co, 4 th November 1952, lot 47. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s register, recording the present lot as no. 146, 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: Good condition with minor expected wear and with minor typical flaws including few natural age cracks. Few minor chips to the teeth. Umimatsu (lit. ‘sea pine’), commonly known as black coral, is a soft deep-water coral. Many patterns of growth are unique to black coral, growing in whips, trees, fans, or coils. While it is commonly used in various forms of jewelry in Japanese art, it is also believed to have apotropaic power and is for this reason used in numerous medical treatments as well. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related umimatsu netsuke of a dried salmon, signed Tomotada, 6.3 cm wide, see Bushell, Raymond (1961) The Netsuke Handbook by Ueda Reikichi, p. 102, no. 108.