A RARE TANBA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A PUFFER FISH, FUGU

拍品描述

A RARE TANBA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A PUFFER FISH, FUGU Unsigned Japan, Sasayama, Tanba province, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) The plump fish of compact, tactile form with its mouth wide open swallowing water to inflate its body. Rigid and taut, the body minutely worked with a stippled ground to the top, the fins and tail gently incised, and the gills subtly indented. The pale horn eyes with drilled pupils. Two himotoshi underneath. LENGTH 4.4 cm The fugu fish blows up like a ball when threatened and its white flesh is highly prized in Japan. However, a poison sac in the fish’s entrails is so deadly that a chef must train for years before he can serve it, when it is traditionally arranged presented in paper-thin slices in the design of a chrysanthemum or a crane. Even so, deaths still occur as a result of fugu poisoning. Literature comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke of a fugu fish by Toyokazu, illustrated in Eskenazi, the Charles A. Greenfield Collection of Japanese Lacquer, London, 1990, pp. 74-75, no. 29. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related boxwood netsuke, signed Toyomasa, 19th century, at Christie’s, Japanese Art & Design, 16 November 2000, London, lot 17 (sold for GBP 23,500).

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