A Kyoto school ivory netsuke of a tigress and cub
By Tomotada, Edo period (18th century)
The mother seated turning to the right as she scratches her ear with her right rear paw while her cub crouches playfully at her feet, hair and stripes finely incised and stained dark for effect, the eyes inlaid in dark horn, signed in a rectangular reserve on the left haunch Tomotada
1 13/16in (4.6cm) wide
The mother seated turning to the right as she scratches her ear with her right rear paw while her cub crouches playfully at her feet, hair and stripes finely incised and stained dark for effect, the eyes inlaid in dark horn, signed in a rectangular reserve on the left haunch Tomotada
1 13/16in (4.6cm) wide
Sold for
US$ 31,250
inc. premium
Footnotes
- There are several models of this subject by Tomotada. See, for example, Anne Hall Grundy, Tomotada and Okatomo in relation to the Kyoto School of Netsuke Carvers, part II in The Antique Collector, October, 1963, p. 208, fig. 49. However, the above cited model, like virtually all others, features the cubs in passive positions, nestled close to the tigress. The example offered here shows the cub in a playful attitude, with its haunches raised, about to strike at its mother's tail.
Category: Asian Art / Japanese Art
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