MITSUYUKI: A SUPERB AND RARE IVORY MASK NETSUKE OF THE FEMALE GHOST OIWA

MITSUYUKI: A SUPERB AND RARE IVORY MASK NETSUKE OF THE FEMALE GHOST OIWA
By Mitsuyuki, signed Mitsuyuki 光之
Japan, second half of 19th century
Published:
Bushell, Raymond (1985) Netsuke Masks, p. 63, no. 261.
Bushell, Raymond Netsuke (1975) Familiar & Unfamiliar, p. 145, no. 307.
Bulletin Franco Japonais, no. 143, Masques Extraordinaires, January 2020, p. 20, no. 33.
Finely carved and stained to depict the female ghost Oiwa, recognizable by her drooping and bloody eye, her stray hairs which are falling out and the loose teeth, all effects of the poisoning by her husband Tamiya Iemon. She has a hemorrhage above her eye simulated by fine stippling and the visible eye is double-inlaid in mother-of-pearl and dark horn. The backside with himotoshi and signature MITSUYUKI.
HEIGHT 4.1 cm
Condition: Excellent condition.
Provenance:
Ex-collection Raymond Bushell sold in his sale at Sotheby's London, 21 March 2000, lot 305. Then purchased from Rosemary Bandini during the Miami Kappa Convention (International Netsuke Collector's Convention) in 2007 by European collector P. Jacquesson.
Oiwa died in 1636 and even today it is believed that she haunts the place of her death as well as anyone who performs her story which was adapted into the famous kabuki play Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan (Ghost story of Yotsuya in Tokaido) in 1825. The story is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge which features Tamiya Iemon who poisoned his loving wife Oiwa, who in turn haunted him and drove him mad.
Literature comparison:
For another mask netsuke by Mitsuyuki of Oiwa, though in wood, see Sagemonoya, Aji, Umami or Daigomi, 2017, no. 91.
Auction comparison:
Mitsuyuki was known for his extremely fine ivory mask netsuke, for another depicting a more common subject see Bonhams, The Bluette H. Kirchoff Collection of Netsuke and Sagemono, 16 September 2009, New York, lot 2133 (
sold for 2,318 USD
).
Trade Certificate:
The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 22-B-0521).
This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.