But of course, the appreciation for
netsuke shouldn't be dependent on how much monetary value it possesses.
Netsuke was attached to the other end of the cord to prevent the cord from slipping through the obi.
Netsuke are ornamental toggles made mainly out of ivory or wood and used to fasten things to the sash of a kimono.
Netsuke are still being carved and are highly respected art forms.
With the transition to European dress, the use of
netsuke declined, nearly disappearing by the first quarter of the 20th century.
He discovered pottery at age five; he is an English literature graduate of Cambridge University with a commitment to poetry; after graduation he won a scholarship to study in Japan and he subsequently learnt the language, was exposed to varied Japanese arts, researched the Leach book and saw the
netsuke at his great-great uncle's Tokyo home.
Netsuke are usually accompanied by an ojime, and were intended to secure the inro to the obi...
Bronze casts of Javanese fruit bats appear as gargoyle-like figurines--they "hang" if one follows the spatial twist that suggests the carpet as ceiling--in the supports of two larger shelves that hold accordion-style books displaying stretched photographs of
netsuke. Here, the artist links his own biography with that of De Waal: One of three collages, hidden behind the brass-mirror facade, portrays Clark's mother in front of an eighteenth-century vitrine displaying her own collection of Japanese ceramics and
netsuke.
The family would be scattered to the four corners of the globe, its possessions--everything except, miraculously, the
netsuke, hidden by a maid in her mattress--stolen.
The realistic artistry on many of the
netsukes in the auction simply must be seen to be believed.
A noted British ceramicist, he ties his chronicle to a collection of 264
netsuke, small Japanese button-like figures carved from various materials, including ivory and boxwood.