Netsuke, the Japanese male belt ornaments of outstanding craftsmanship, aroused much interest in the Western world already in the late 19th century. They appeal by their variety of shapes and the sheer endless number of motifs and still continue to fascinate a wide audience; they have become coveted collectors" items worldwide, as the most recent auction results emphatically show.
The attraction of netsuke lies in the expressive power achieved within a small space and the masterly execution in the most varied materials, such as wood, ivory and horn. The subjects illustrate almost all aspects of Japanese culture: Buddhist figures, gods of good luck, animals, plants, fruit and flowers, literary characters, foreigners, children, masks and occupations, down to the prosaic paraphernalia of everyday life. One of the world"s most comprehensive netsuke collections is the Werdelmann Collection at the museum kunst palast Dьsseldorf with its almost 1100 objects, the result of more than thirty-five years of committed collecting. The exhibition presents a unique survey of this art form from the 17th to the 20th century.
Формат: 23 см x 30 см. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The World of Netsuke (Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz)