282 - LEIGH SLOGGETT: DEEP SEA STRUGGLE

LEIGH SLOGGETT: DEEP SEA STRUGGLE By Leigh Sloggett (b.1960), signed LS Australia, c. 1997 Superbly carved in the round from warm-toned boxwood as an octopus locked in a struggle with a tightly closed bivalve shell, five of its tentacles probing deep between the valves while the remaining limbs coil powerfully around the exterior. The smooth, subtly textured skin of the octopus contrasts with the deeply ridged and darkened shell, the suckers individually carved with remarkable precision. One eye is closed, while the other, inlaid in dark horn, looks back toward a tiny snail creeping across the underside. Beneath its remarkable naturalism, the composition carries a distinctly playful erotic undercurrent: the enveloping tentacles and resistant shell recall the visual vocabulary of Japanese shunga, most famously Katsushika Hokusai’s 1814 design from Kinoe no komatsu, while the snail itself is another suggestive motif frequently encountered in erotic imagery. Sloggett transforms these associations into a witty contemporary netsuke, balancing sensuality, humor, and keen observation of marine life. Signed LS within a circular reserve to the underside. Natural himotoshi. HEIGHT 3.4 cm Provenance: Ex-collection Teddy Hahn, Darmstadt, purchased in 1997. Theodor “Teddy” Hahn was a well-known and respected collector of netsuke and other Asian works of art. After spending time in museums to study the early cultures of the world, finding particular interest in their sculptures, he began collecting, remarking, “I somehow knew it would have a profound influence on my life. How right I was. And how happy I have been.” Teddy Hahn was a passionate collector of snail netsuke, arguably building the greatest collection of snail netsuke ever assembled. Condition: Excellent condition. With the original wood storage box, which shows the artist’s signature and title of the work. Leigh Sloggett (b. 1960) is an Australian contemporary netsuke artist who has been carving netsuke since 1992. He trained with Japanese carvers including Bishu Saito, Yasufusa Saito, Ryoshu Miyazawa, Mitsuyuki Aoki, and Goraku Matsuda. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the British Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art; his Kingfisher is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, while several further works entered the Prince Takamado Collection at the Tokyo National Museum. In 1997, NHK produced a documentary devoted to his netsuke. Auction comparison: For another work by the artist, Seascape, c. 2000, see Zacke, Vienna, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 29 October 2021, lot 219 (sold for EUR 3,286 or approx. EUR 4,100 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).