A RARE BONE MASK NETSUKE OF OKAME

A RARE BONE MASK NETSUKE OF OKAME
Signed illegibly
Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)
Published:
Bushell, Raymond (1975) Netsuke Familiar & Unfamiliar, New York/Tokyo, p. 145, no. 300.
Mikimoto (1979) Netsuke, An Unknown Japanese Art, Raymond Bushell Collection, Tokyo, p. 71, no. 387.
Bushell, Raymond (1985) Netsuke Masks, pl. 242.
Netsuke Kenkyukai (1985) Vol. 5, no. 3, p. 18.
Eskenazi (1998) Japanese Netsuke, Ojime and Inro from a Private European Collection, p. 52-53, no. 50.
Exhibited:
Netsuke: An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection, Mikimoto Hall, Tokyo, 1-17 September 1979, no. 387.
Well carved with characteristic plump cheeks, lively wide eyes, and a broad nose, the tiny mouth agape in a cheerful smile showing teeth, the parted hair neatly incised and heightened with sumi. The back with a single himotoshi and a faint illegible signature.
HEIGHT 5.1 cm
Condition: Good condition with some surface wear.
Provenance:
Ex-collection Raymond Bushell. Christie's, The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke, Part IV, 23 April 1991, New York, lot 131. Ex-collection Emiel Veranneman, acquired from the above. Sotheby's, May 2007, London, lot 784. European collection P. Jacquesson, acquired from the above.
Okame (or Otafuku) represents a lovely, always smiling Japanese woman who brings happiness and good fortune to any man she marries. She is also known as the Goddess of Mirth and is a very popular image in Japanese culture. Otafuku literally means 'much good fortune', and Okame means 'tortoise', which is also an auspicious symbol of longevity, as tortoises lead long lives.