Lot details Unsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved to depict a ferocious three-clawed dragon with sinuous body emerging from a cylindrical ash pot within a tabako-bon (smoking set), the beast well detailed with neatly incised scales, spiky brows and beard, and large eyes, the mouth wide open revealing tongue and teeth. The base of the tabako-bon with two generously excavated asymmetrical himotoshi. LENGTH 4 cm Condition: Very good condition, minor wear, light surface scratches. Provenance: From the collection of Gaston Lazard (1878-1956) and his wife Jane Levy (1886-1985) and thence by descent within the same family. The present netsuke illustrates the proverb Haifuki kara ryu (‘a dragon issuing from an ash container’), which is analogous to the expression Hyotan kara koma (‘a horse out of a gourd’), both conveying the idea of something unexpected happening. Another meaning of the former is said to be the hot air of a braggart. Sometimes daija (large snake) is substituted in this proverb for ryu. See Jonas, F. M. (1928) Netsuke, p. 112, and Volker, T. (1975) The Animal in Far Eastern Art, p. 64.
Lot details Unsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved to depict a ferocious three-clawed dragon with sinuous body emerging from a cylindrical ash pot within a tabako-bon (smoking set), the beast well detailed with neatly incised scales, spiky brows and beard, and large eyes, the mouth wide open revealing tongue and teeth. The base of the tabako-bon with two generously excavated asymmetrical himotoshi. LENGTH 4 cm Condition: Very good condition, minor wear, light surface scratches. Provenance: From the collection of Gaston Lazard (1878-1956) and his wife Jane Levy (1886-1985) and thence by descent within the same family. The present netsuke illustrates the proverb Haifuki kara ryu (‘a dragon issuing from an ash container’), which is analogous to the expression Hyotan kara koma (‘a horse out of a gourd’), both conveying the idea of something unexpected happening. Another meaning of the former is said to be the hot air of a braggart. Sometimes daija (large snake) is substituted in this proverb for ryu. See Jonas, F. M. (1928) Netsuke, p. 112, and Volker, T. (1975) The Animal in Far Eastern Art, p. 64.
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