Netsuke, ivory carving of Shoki and oni, Japan, 17th-18th century

Ɏ AN IMPRESSIVELY LARGE AND POWERFUL IVORY NETSUKE OF SHOKI SUBDUING AN ONI, EX BEHRENS COLLECTION Unsigned Japan, late 17th to early 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Joly, Henri L. (1912) The W. L. Behrens Collection, Part 1, Netsuke, no. 3217, illustrated on pl. XXXLX.

Boldly carved in the powerful manner of early sankaku (triangular) netsuke, depicting the demon queller Shoki seated triumphantly upon a subdued oni. Shoki reaches one hand behind his head while the other grips the hilt of his long sword, its blade extending emphatically across the composition. His ferocious expression is rendered with tremendous vigor, with sharply arched brows, glaring eyes, flaring nostrils, and an open mouth revealing individually carved teeth, the face framed by a finely incised beard and hair gathered into a high topknot. the broad folds and deeply cut surfaces enhancing the monumentality of the carving.

Beneath him, the terrified oni is violently compressed upside down, its head forced to the ground between its hands, the face contorted with bulging eyes and bared fangs. Generously excavated, asymmetrical himotoshi to the back. The ivory bearing a superb. HEIGHT 8.5 cm, WIDTH 6 cm Provenance: Ex-collection W. L. Behrens (1861-1913). Thereafter in a noted French private collection. The portrayal of Shoki is itself highly unusual, the demon queller shown in elaborate armor and with an almost martial, heroic presence rather than in the more familiar scholarly or robed guise; combined with the massive triangular composition and vigorous modeling, this gives the carving the bold, uncompromising energy particularly associated with the kind of early netsuke admired and championed by Joe Kurstin (see literature comparison).

Literature comparison: Compare a related early ivory netsuke of Shoki and an oni, likewise unsigned, dated 17th-early 18th century and measuring an imposing 10.5 cm high, illustrated in Kurstin, Joe (1999), Masterworks of Netsuke and Other Japanese Miniature Art from American Collections, p. 17, no. 1. While differing in composition, the comparison is particularly apt for its similarly monumental scale, extraordinary vigor, and powerful sculptural presence.