136 - KATAOKA MASANOBU: A RARE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD KYOGEN KITSUNE (FOX) MASK WITH ARTICULATED JAW

KATAOKA MASANOBU: A RARE PAINTED AND LACQUERED WOOD KYOGEN KITSUNE (FOX) MASK WITH ARTICULATED JAW By Kataoka Masanobu, signed Kataoka Masanobu Japan, Osaka, Settsu, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Boldly carved as a fox with a broad, subtly domed forehead, deeply slanted pierced eyes beneath pronounced brows, a short, rounded snout, and semi-pricked ears with the tips folding outward. The separately carved lower jaw is articulated, opening to reveal two rows of sharp teeth and a red-lacquered tongue, lending the mask a particularly animated expression. The surface is covered in cream-colored lacquer, finely worn and darkened with age, the ears picked out in dark brown. Two small, pierced apertures to either side for attachment. The reverse signed KATAOKA MASANOBU. HEIGHT 21 cm Provenance: A private collection, New York, United States. An old label applied to the back. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age and use, with wear, fine age cracks, and minor flaking to the paint and lacquer. A small section of the chin reattached, the tip of the tongue lost, small chips to the nose, teeth, and ears, and an old fill to the forehead. Presenting beautifully. Kataoka Masanobu (片岡政信) was an accomplished modern mask carver active in Settsu (Osaka) during the Meiji period. His work is documented in the Taga Taisha Noh Kyogen Men Mokuroku, published in 1933, which records an Uba mask by Masanobu in the historic mask collection of Taga Taisha. His authorship has also been recognized through modern scholarly research. During a Tokyo National Museum-led study of Noh and Kyogen masks, a Chujo mask in the museum whose branded seal was largely damaged was identified as Masanobu's work through the close correspondence of its surviving seal and reverse chisel marks with those of his Kyogen mask Suzume at Shinonome Shrine. These references firmly establish Masanobu as a specialist working within the classical tradition of Noh and Kyogen mask carving. The Kitsune mask is used in the second act of Tsurigitsune (Fox Trapping), one of the most demanding pieces in the Kyogen repertory. An old fox, whose family has been killed by a hunter, first assumes the human form of the hunter's uncle Hakuzosu in an attempt to persuade him to abandon fox trapping. Yet on encountering bait left in a trap, the fox is unable to resist its own nature, casts off its disguise, and returns in its true form. The articulated lower jaw is not merely decorative but an important theatrical device, opening as the actor howls to intensify the animal's expression and amplify its cry. The importance and difficulty of the role are encapsulated in the traditional saying that a Kyogen actor's training “begins with the monkey and ends with the fox.” Museum comparison: Compare a related painted wood Kyogen mask of Kitsune, made specifically for Tsurigitsune, by Deme Kazumitsu, dated 17th-18th century, 21 cm high, in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related miniature version in the form of a lacquered wood mask netsuke of a Kitsune by Mitsunobu, likewise carved with an articulated jaw, pierced slanted eyes, semi-pricked ears, rows of sharp teeth, and a cream-colored lacquered surface, dated first half of the 19th century, 4 cm high, at Galerie Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 16 April 2021, Vienna, lot 284 (sold for EUR 10,370 or approx. EUR 13,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).