English: Published: Tomkinson, Michael (1898) A Japanese Collection, no. 509 (unillustrated).

The recumbent boar (inoshishi) boldly carved with its head lowered and resting on a bed of autumn leaves, its eyes opened and watchful, the hairwork incised in the typical manner of the artist. Signed underneath TAMETAKA. Large, asymmetrical and generously excavated himotoshi.

Length: 4.8 cm

Condition: Very good condition. Minor expected wear.

Provenance: Ex-collection Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), no. 509. Sotheby’s, Fine Japanese and Korean Works of Art, 9 June 2004, London, lot 1177. From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, acquired from the above. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple were married in 1975, and together they built a collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Notably, they assembled an impressive collection of Japanese art, focusing on fine netsuke, inro, and lacquer.

Tametaka is the earliest recorded netsuke artist from Nagoya and is listed in the Soken Kisho of 1781. He carved boars rather infrequently; furthermore, most known examples show boars in a group of two or more. The present piece is a highly representative example of Tametaka’s work, striking a delicate balance between refinement and functionality, all while retaining the artist’s idiosyncratic, rustic style.

Literature comparison: For a closely related wood netsuke of a recumbent boar see Bandini, Rosemary (2001) Expressions of Style, Netsuke as Art, Scholten Japanese Art, New York, no. 145.

Auction comparison:

Compare a closely related wood netsuke of a recumbent boar resting on a bed of leaves at Christie’s, Japanese and Korean Art, 16 September 2003, New York, lot 244 (sold for USD 11,950).