Price on request.
A rare and nice sized wood monkey by Gyokusen Tomochika. Seated, the monkey was presumably resting under a tree – unfortunately for her, she picked a persimmon tree ready to drop its ripe fruit.
The monkey’s well-carved hands search on top of her head and she bears a startled look on her face. The poor thing is trying to find the large persimmon that has fallen and landed square on her head.
Gyokusen monkeys are rare, I know of only two; one, identical to this, in a private US collection and the other published in Scholten’s Expressions of Style, in my opinion one of the great monkey netsuke. Our monkey has a deeply carved face, wide-open mouth displaying minutely detailed teeth and deeply set eyes, which give the netsuke a sense of life. The surface of the wood is detailed with fine hairwork and a silky gloss polish that accentuates the light stain. The himotoshi is formed by one larger and one smaller hole to the underside.
Signed, Tomochika, in a square reserve
Gyokusen Tomochika was a pupil of Tomotada, who moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. (Not connected with Chikuyosai Tomochika)
Late 18th century
Height: 3.8cm Width: 3.6cm
If you are interested in purchasing this netsuke you can contact me via the details below.
Phone or Whatsapp: +447534 423 803
Email: robert@willford-ja.co.uk
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