Why not collect new pieces? Prices are much lower than older works.
There are plenty of commercially made netsuke available. Some of these are produced in Japan; most come from Hong Kong and China. They are mass-produced merchandise, not unlike factory-made paintings. When carvers are paid to make the same product day after day, the predictable results cannot be considered serious art. It is unethical for dealers to market these objects as authentic netsuke. Moreover, authentic netsuke are antique and do not contribute to illegal poaching of endangered animal species for the purpose of mass producing inferior articles.

True netsuke were made during the 17th-19th centuries. Their motifs, styles and execution were purely congruent and contemporaneous with the culture from which they emerged. Some of the criteria such as skill in carving, originality of conception, completeness of finish, are quantifiable; other factors such as depth of feeling, humor, inherent esthetic excellence and philosophical implication are less measurable but are surely deeply felt. The inescapable tendency of expression that an era impresses upon its artists is an unarguable factor in determining authenticity, but what is most strongly felt in contemporary copies is that something missing, for nowhere to be seen is the originality, the fineness and subtlety of the tradition of authentic netsuke. MORE F.A.Q.