64 - TSUCHIYA YOSHICHIKA: A FINE SENTOKU ‘SHOKI AND ONI’ TSUBA

TSUCHIYA YOSHICHIKA: A FINE SENTOKU ‘SHOKI AND ONI’ TSUBA By Tsuchiya Yoshichika, signed Tsuchiya Yoshichika with kakihan Japan, 19 th century, Edo (1615-1868) to Meiji period (1868-1912) Of kakumarugata, with a gently raised rim, the migakiji ground rendered in shishiaibori and katakiribori with gold and iro-e takazogan to depict Shoki holding a long sword and gazing upward beneath his wide-brimmed straw hat, the reverse with a frightened oni clambering up a pine tree. Signed TSUCHIYA YOSHICHIKA with kakihan. HEIGHT 8.1 cm, WIDTH 7.4 cm HEIGHT 2.7 cm (nakago-ana) THICKNESS 0.4 cm (seppa-dai) WEIGHT 178.2 g Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple were married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Notably, they assembled an impressive collection of Japanese art, focusing on fine netsuke, inro, and lacquer. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. With a padded storage box. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related tsuba of Shoki and a demon, signed Shigechika, dated c. 1800, 7.5 cm tall, in the Ashmolean Museum, accession number EAX.10953. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related sentoku tsuba with shoki and oni, unsigned, dated late 18 th to early 19 th century, 7.5 cm high, at Zacke, Vienna, 2 September 2026, lot 94 (sold for EUR 5,200 at the time of writing).