Attractively
signed on buffalo horn inlay by the artist Ichiryusai, this remarkably detailed
netsuke size okimono portrays a playful portraiture of Japanese daily life. A
fisherman hauling in the catch with a contoured net, while standing next to his
young apprentices are gleefully engaged with the day‘s work. One child lies on
his back juggling fish on his feet, as the other stands at ready with a large
pole, assisting his father with the task at hand.
The
netsuke is lightly stained and intricately etched, three super realistic figures
are pains-takingly carved through, in tightly arranged flows of lively movements,
closely collided in an exceedingly complex composition, all within an impossible
tiny platform. Though the carving visibly has an early Western influence, nevertheless,
it achieves an unmatched artistic distinction universally recognized as the netsuke
art of Japan.
