A very unusual model of a tiger, completely unique in its style, and more of an abstract representation of a tiger than a naturalistic one. The tiger has its head turned back with its eyes and mouth wide open, baring fangs. It has small ears, a reishi mushroom nose and characteristic vertical pupils. The image of the tiger is quite grotesque, especially with its thick and unusual neck which extends to the back, but its expression is nonetheless powerful. The tiger is the third animal of the zodiac and a symbol of resilience and strength. The underside with expressively carved thick and large paws and the signature DORAKU (the artist is also known as Dorakusai) in a rounded reserve on the inside of one of the legs. Good and irregular himotoshi to the side and by the belly.

The fur coat is executed finely, inked and worn in some areas, and the characteristic spots of a tiger’s fur coat are visible. The tiger is not native to Japan and netsuke artists had to mostly rely on paintings or hearsay without ever seeing a real tiger themselves. However, the fur coats of tigers were imported from China, therefore the patterns on the fur were often correctly expressed in netsuke art; another good example for this are the tigers from Hakuryu (catalog no. 86) or Matsushita Otoman.

Category:

-

Subcategory:

-

Subject:

Animal

Material:

Ivory

Age/Country:

19th Century

Artist:

Doraku

Provenance/Owner:

Galerie Zacke

Signed:

signed

Type:

Katabori

Height:

36mm mm

Width:

mm

Depth:

mm

ID number: