Hogyokusai ivory manju netsuke
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
mid-19th century
Of circular form, the front finely carved in shishiaibori (sunken relief) with a gaunt thief crouching furtively as he steals a bamboo shoot, his limbs tightly drawn up and one hand firmly grasping the freshly cut prize. His angular profile and tense posture lend the scene a wonderfully clandestine character. The reverse is finely engraved with bamboo stalks, a bamboo shoot and a bundle of straw, the details picked out with sumi (ink). Himotoshi to the back and signed HOGYOKUSAI within a wavy reserve.
DIAMETER 4.3 cm As Raymond Bushell observed when publishing the present netsuke, the subject appears to be more than a farmer simply gathering bamboo shoots for his dinner. He identified the scantily clad figure as a kosodoro, or petty sneak thief and filcher of farm produce, noting the incongruity of his wearing only a fundoshi during the early bamboo-shoot season.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material (listing wording)
- ivory
- Dimensions or weight (listing wording)
- 4.3 cm
Identification
- Source note
- Auction-house description published on Invaluable. Attribution and measurements describe the photographed example; independent type authentication remains research required.
- Listing object ID
- 206787926
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Independent confirmation of type attribution and auction-house statements remains research required.