Until 2nd May, 2025
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TADATOSHI: A SUPERB NAGOYA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A SLEEPING SHOJO
LOT 117 - NE0524
By Tadatoshi, signed Tadatoshi 忠利
Japan, Nagoya, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Very finely carved and of an ideally compact shape, the shojo seated, cradling its face in both hands as it sleeps off the effects of too much sake. The expression is carved masterfully, retaining a hint of blissfulness while showing its tired drunkenness, the face compressing beneath its two hands which support the face from underneath the robe. The neatly incised long hair flows down over the beautifully detailed kimono. Large, asymmetrical himotoshi to the back and underneath, the larger hole generously excavated to accommodate the knot. Signed underneath within a recessed reserve in ukibori characters TADATOSHI. The cherrywood bearing a fine, dark patina.
HEIGHT 3.4 cm
Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear and some nibbling to the interior of the larger himotoshi.
Provenance: Ex-collection Guy de Lasteyrie. De Lasteyrie is a member of the Lasteyrie du Saillant family and is considered among the leading French collectors of netsuke.
Tadatoshi and his followers carved many shojo depicting them in various poses, though usually reclining. The seated variant is to be considered rarer than those reclining, and the present example shows a possibly unique posture boasting great individual character.
Museum comparison:
Compare three shojo by Tadatoshi, each depicted in a different manner, in the Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, illustrated in Jirka-Schmitz Patrizia, The World of Netsuke, The Werdelmann Collection at the Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, p. 19, nos. 8-10.
Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related wood netsuke of a sleeping shojo depicted in a similarly individual posture, its hands folded in prayer as it sleeps, signed Ikkan, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 2 November 2023, London, lot 2 (sold for GBP 16,000).
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