GYOKUZAN: A RARE AND UNUSUAL YOKAI MASK NETSUKE

拍品描述

GYOKUZAN: A RARE AND UNUSUAL YOKAI MASK NETSUKE By Gyokuzan, signed Gyokuzan Japan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912) Boldly carved as a humorous yokai mask with exaggerated features, the face lacquered in negoro style with vivid red and black, the large bulging eyes highlighted in gilt. The creature has a bulbous nose, a grinning mouth, and a high rounded forehead, accentuated at the center with a vertical series of raised ridges. The reverse with a central himotoshi bar and signed in raised characters GYOKUZAN. HEIGHT 5.1 cm Yokai occupy a rich and playful place in Japanese folklore, encompassing supernatural beings, spirits, monsters, and shape-shifting creatures that could be frightening, mischievous, humorous, or protective. In netsuke art, they offered carvers an opportunity for boundless imagination, allowing grotesque features, theatrical expressions, and comic exaggeration to be rendered on a miniature scale. This rare mask netsuke captures that spirit perfectly, transforming the uncanny into an object of charm, wit, and theatrical presence.

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