attributed to Masanao
Kyoto, 18th century
wood tongue-cut sparrow
width 1 1/2 in., 3.7 cm
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The stylized bird with plump body and wide head, its beak pulled into a deep frown terminating against its full throat, its large eyes inlaid in dark horn. The himotoshi with one hole larger than the other; the wood bearing a dark glassy patina.
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| See Japanese Netsuke: Serious Art, Sydney L. Moss, 1989, no. 9, for comparison with a signed Masanao tongue-cut sparrow which displays similarities in the deeply frowning beak and the detailed attention to the legs folded on the underside.
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$20,000
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front view
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