Netsuken Care Guide

Listing Results Netsuken Care Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

• What should I look for when buying a netsuke?

  Netsuke are expected to show some sign of wear but the wear on a netsuke should not be so far advanced as to devalue the piece. Most collectors will agree that cracks, minor chips, surface erosions, tiny repairs, and similar small defects are acceptable in direct relationship to the age of the netsuke.

• Are there any unsigned netsuke?

  No, there are many unsigned netsuke. In fact, some of the netsuke considered by many experts to be among the greatest are unsigned. Among them are the netsuke frequently referred to as the Meinertzhagen Kirin after its first official Western owner, and a famous ivory netsuke depicting an Ama (Japanese diving girl) and a squid.

• What is netsuke and why is it important?

  Netsuke could even be subversive — erotic in nature, or used as social satire. Their designs often mirrored broader trends in Japanese art. ‘With the advent of the 19th century, netsuke tended to feature objects that one would see in daily life,’ Goodall says.

• How did the netsuke keep the items from slipping?

  It was found at the end of a cord, and when the cord was pulled through the netsuke, it kept the items from slipping through the sash. Two holes of unequal size were drilled at the bottom of the netsuke to secure it.

• What are netsuke toggles?

  The ornately carved toggles were once an integral part of Japanese fashion. Today, as expert Hollis Goodall explains, they are pursued with a rare passion by collectors Like all art objects of great worth, netsuke distill the essence of a specific time and place.

• Is netsuke Japanese art or science?

  Those toggles may have spawned the netsuke. But the netsuke we know today is a distinctly Japanese art form.

• Why are netsuke so collectable?

  Everything else is left to the carver’s imagination. As such netsuke differ in style, subject and material as widely as the personalities of their makers, and they are consequently supremely collectable.

• Why are Westerners so obsessed with netsuke?

  Westerners took up the collector’s mantle. ‘In the Meiji period, right after Japan opened to the West in 1854, Americans and Europeans discovered netsuke and immediately started collecting them,’ Goodall says. ‘Westerners were so intrigued by netsuke that carvers continued to make a living by selling them to Westerners.’