Though
little is known of his life, Gyokuseki's netsuke are recorded in London as early
as 1922, in the W.L. Behrens Collection, by Henry Joly.
A
wildly triumphant Shoki has got the best of a wimpering oni, who howls in protest
under his feet. Shoki is in midair, his garments billowing, sleeves blowing out
around him as he jumps to trample on his captive. Carved from the very tip of
a fine Asian tusk, this close grained cream colored ivory in has been lightly
stained to a honey tone and is marked with moire patterns and striations characteristic
of quality ivory. The piece is exceptionally dramatic and well-carved, the beard
and hair of Shoki flying upward into a fastening from which it cascades down his
back in separate heavy locks colored with black ink. The inimitable expression
is wide-eyed and furious, the ears sticking out from behind the clasped beard
and hair, his sword ready at his side and his left arm adding pressure to the
weight of his foot stomping on the oni’s head. Detailed with finely engraved patterns
on the garment and hems, with fluent signature left of the himotoshi: Gyokuseki.
