62 - KIKUOKA MITSUYASU: A FINE KIKUOKA SCHOOL SHAKUDO NANAKO ‘INSECTS IN AUTUMN’ TSUBA

KIKUOKA MITSUYASU: A FINE KIKUOKA SCHOOL SHAKUDO NANAKO ‘INSECTS IN AUTUMN’ TSUBA By Kikuoka Mitsuyasu, signed Kikuoka Mitsuyasu with a kakihan Japan, c. 1800, Edo period (1615-1868) Of nademarugata form, the shakudo nanako ground superbly inlaid in gold and shakudo takazogan to depict a bee, a praying mantis, and two grasshoppers amid sprays of autumnal flowers. Signed KIKUOKA MITSUYASU with kakihan. HEIGHT 7.6 cm, WIDTH 7.2 cm HEIGHT 2.6 cm (nakago-ana) THICKNESS 0.4 cm (seppa-dai) WEIGHT 146.5 g Provenance: Christie’s, 9 November 2005, London, lot 219. From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, acquired from the above. 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. Kikuoka Mitsuyasu (ca. 1800) is listed in the Haynes Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists on p. 1114 (H 05537.0). He was a student of Kikuoka Mitsuyuki, the founder of the Kikuoka school. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related shakudo tsuba with insects by Kikuoka Mitsutomo, dated 18 th-19 th century, at Christie’s New York, 29 March 2005, lot 119 (sold for USD 9,000 or approx. EUR 13,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).