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Got lucky and read a blurb in an online newsletter about an upcoming estate auction featuring an extensive collection of Asian antiquities, art and really, a shytload of cool stuff.

Apparently, the lot was being sold by the estate of a former CIA/state department type, who hailed from the North Shore, but spent several decades in his professional life in several Asian nations, and had become a fairly serious collector over the time he was there, and beyond, once retired. There were amazing pieces of furniture and museum quality stuff. Looked to me as if Mr. CIA was able to duck around some of those pesky international laws about booty from raided tombs and whatnot...

I was pretty shocked when I found that among the items to be sold were a large group of 'netsuke', which are Japanese carvings/figurines. They were used as both fashion/status symbols, as well as serving a practical purpose in that they were used to serve as a knot for thin belts used in their garb of the era. They were made of many different materials, including wood, antler, bone, stone and teeth. Teeth of elephants were probably the most common material used with the best, and most expensive netsuke. Some are made of mammoth ivory, and for many years sea turtle shells were utilized. Many of the high quality ones are signed, BTW.

I spent more money than I'd hoped, but Mrs. KG was thrilled. We'd only managed to find a handful in the last ten years, one at a time, in a swap meet/flea market here, a little thrift shop there, you know. I added 30 to the collection in a day. The auction itself was funny, but that's a story for another day, maybe...

Post-war Japan saw many of its little treasures like these leave. On the block also were two genuine, real deal katana, with one dating to 1348, and the other to 1510, I believe. Hey, to the victor go the spoils; that's the rule. The point I guess is that original, high quality pieces like this are somewhat rare here. Those I have seen can get very pricey (and more so in the country of their origin, interestingly).

To stumble across a collection of so many authentic ones, at a price that stung a bit but didn't hurt? Hell man, their loss is my gain on this one. I realized early on that I was going to be able to get some deals, as there were descriptions that were wrong, no recognition of some cultural significance (there are several that are old Japanese fairytale/ghosts/goblins/mythical beings. One described the piece as 'laughing man with box and baskets'. The baskets, if you look closely, are filled with fish, and the 'box' the man is holding is actually an abacus, accurate with detail down to the last bead. Stunning workmanship displayed in many of them. Most are Meiji era (1868-1912), but some are older, and a few are newer.

In any event, I'm very happy with them. If anyone has any of these they would consider selling, PM me please. I guess I'm something of a wannabe netsuke 'collector' now...













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[img]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n29/birddown/Netsuke%20and%20Portugal%20food/IMG_1990.jpg[/img]

As always, very interesting. You get into some truly amazing stuff. Happy for you.

neat stuff there.

What does the writing on the crab say..?

Interesting heritage. Yours it founded in fine art and culture. Mine is to drink whiskey stored in barrels burned with swamp sludge, paint my naked body blue and charge enemy lines screaming at the top of my lungs.

Guess which of us is more civilized.

Thanks for posting such beautiful art.

Nice! you my friend bring, a little something diffrent, to the fire! please keep it up!

reading a book on mans long fascination with ivory......netsuke were mentioned......i guess ivory netsuke were one of the few ways lower class businessmen were allowed to show off as they werent really allowed much in the way of valuables to flaunt which is what kinda spearheaded the wonderful lil art form....

A little culture now and then does wonders for the Fire. Thanks for the interesting post. Now, can we have a translation, please.

Very cool!
I had a few netsuke at one point a few years ago. Maybe 6 or 8 diffent ones.
I gave them to friend who appreciated them more than me.
There was a really cool litttle turtle that I had with characters on the plates of his shell.
I would love to see more photos Leighton.

Thanks for the words, gents.

Scott, I am ethnically 50% Japanese. The other 50% is Scottish. I come from two island people. Both like to drink, fight and fish.

My mother is a naturalized citizen, having first come to the U.S. in the early 60s. She sports a thick, Keelie/East Ender accent to this day that many find difficult to understand.

As a MacArthur blood relative (aunt has traced our highland roots back for 8 or 9 hundred years), you and I hail from the same lines. So, thanks for the reference, but I understand well the people you descend from. Better than most, maybe.

Those are pretty cool Leighton.

That crab is a jewel.

Thinking the same...alot of those pieces are phenomenal...my dad picked up a few pieces of netsuke in the early '70s

that stuff looks exceptional..but the crab is my fave!

I remembered that you were half Scot when I wrote it. But you my friend seemed to pull the more civilized from both sides.

Thank you, sir. It's taken years for me to cultivate that utter fabrication into something that will occasionally actually fool people. 'Civilized' and I have met on only the briefest and most rare of occasions, to be honest. He called me a boor and I broke a beer bottle over his head at our last meeting, I believe...

Oh me lad, the motherland does flow in ye vanes!

Very interesting, thanks for sharing.

You mean painting your naked body blue isn't a high art form? They also made quite a bit of art when they weren't doing an excellent job of killing their neighbors.

Any ever read, "How the Scots Invented the Modern World and Everything in It"?

Here's proof. Behold my clan crest and tartan, and that which seals the deal beyond any shred of doubt: after having gotten at the whisky unsupervised. *Under* the table, fighting a buddy's duck dog for the last piece of cake--half eaten no less--that the bold swine had just nicked off the table and ran under the table with to eat on the sly.

"No so bloddy fast there, mate! Yers didnae PAY for ony o that cake did ye? Rrrrrright, gies it here ye bastard!"


Case closed.





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Absolutely beautiful stuff KG

Beautiful art KG!