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Morning session at 10.30 a.m. precisely Lots 1 - 208 NETSUKE THE PROPERTY OF A NORTH AMERICAN LADY

An Ivory Netsuke

UNSIGNED, EDO PERIOD (LATE 18TH-EARLY 19TH CENTURY)

Details

An Ivory Netsuke
Unsigned, Edo Period (Late 18th-Early 19th Century)
A well-carved Kyoto-style model of a baku, sitting upright with its head twisted over its body, the himotoshi formed by a hole in the base connecting with one in the side
2 5/8 x 1 7/16in. (6.8 x 3.6cm.)

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

The baku is described in detail in Wakan sansai zue, an encyclopedia published in 1716 by the Osaka physician Terajima Ryoan. According to Terajima, the baku is an amalgam of elements taken from other animals: 'elephant's trunk, rhinoceros's eyes, ox's tail, tiger's feet'. It is very strong and can eat metal; its urine is capable of dissolving iron.1

1 Terajima Ryoan, Wakan sansai zue [Japanese-Chinese Pictorial Compendium of the Three Powers] (Osaka, 1716; modern edn. Tokyo, 1970), p. 439

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