Netsuke, Seiobo, Osaka, 18th century

Ɏ A SUPERB IVORY NETSUKE OF SEIOBO, ATTRIBUTED TO SANKO Attributed to Sanko, unsigned Japan, Osaka, late 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Superbly carved as Seiobo (Xiwangmu), the Queen Mother of the West, standing in an elegant and commanding pose, one arm raised gracefully above her head and the other lowered before the body.

Her long robes fall in deeply undercut, voluminous folds and are richly embellished with scrolling and geometric borders and finely incised textile patterns. Two peaches of immortality hang prominently at the front, identifying the deity. Her serene face is sensitively modeled with downcast eyes and a composed expression, framed by large earrings and an elaborate coiffure surmounted by a finely carved headdress. The reverse is worked with equal refinement, while the hair is arranged in prominent coils at the back of the head. Asymmetrical himotoshi to the reverse. HEIGHT 8.5 cm Provenance: From a noted German private collection, Munich, Germany.

Sanko (三小) was one of the most distinguished Osaka netsuke carvers of the 18th century and is among the artists recorded in Inaba Tsuryu’s Soken Kisho, published in 1781, where his exceptional technical ability is specifically praised. Foremost among them is the legendary ‘Meinertzhagen Kirin,’ one of the best-known netsuke in the history of the field, famously illustrated as the color frontispiece to the Meinertzhagen Card Index and later the subject of dedicated scholarship. Seiobo, the Japanese name for the Chinese Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, was a popular subject in premodern Japanese art.

She was believed to inhabit the mythical paradise of Mount Kunlun, where the peaches of immortality ripened only once every three thousand years and bestowed longevity or immortality upon those permitted to eat them. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of Seiobo by the same artist, signed Sanko, illustrated in Davey, Neil K. (1974), Netsuke: A Comprehensive Study Based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 18, no. 9.

Museum comparison: Compare a closely related ivory netsuke of Seiobo by the same artist, signed Sanko, 7.6 cm high, formerly in the Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession no. M.91.250.117.