Inro Theme Information Sought

[hddennis]

Just acquired this and awaiting it's arrival.  Can anyone tell me what the artist has portrayed. Is it a legend or what? I'm assuming the man is blowing a giant conch horn. Is he sitting on something overlaying the main picture? There seems to be panels over the landscape. I love this type artwork but always have trouble deciphering what the artist meant for me to see. Any guesses as to age and school also greatly appreciated.

 

Thank You for any help you can give me,

Howard Dennis

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Howard,  a very good looking inro you have there. Is it signed? When it arrives, can you take a clear picture of the figure? Various theories buzzing around in my head but there is not enough detail to refine anything. Yamabushi wander the hills and mountains, traditionally blowing their Horagai conch (actually a Triton). Netsuke artists loved extreme and unlikely size contrasts, as you know. Is there another mini shell beside him? This figure is extra small, so I would consider the Issun Boshi legends. There is *one for example where he blows a Horagai into the ear of a fox as a prank, thereby incurring the fox's revenge.

 

*Halfway down this page: http://www.o-minwa.net/hukusimano_minwa/minwazensyu/mukasi.html

[hddennis]

Bugyotsuji,

Thanks I just couldn't resist this one for my collection. I hope when it arrives it is signed, it sure looks like work worthy of signing. I'll get better pictures posted as soon as I get it.  

Appreciate the link.

 

Howard Dennis

[Rich S]

Howard

No clue about theme, but it sure is nice.

Rich

[hddennis]

Thanks Guys,

appreciate your responses. I'll get more pictures as soon as this arrives which will take some time as it's coming from it's homeland.

 

Howard Dennis

[hddennis]

First, Thank You for trying to help me. If it's too good to be true chances are it is! eBay seller tried to cancel sale and when I refused he tried to bribe me with PayPal money. Being suspicious I Googled the image of inro I bought and found it on an ongoing auction on Yahoo Japan listed by someone else. Apparently he lists items on eBay and when you hit Buy-It-Now he tries to buy it off Yahoo to complete the eBay sale. I was able to get a refund but eBay representative said although against eBay policy what he did isn't illegal??   Do we need to Google Image anything we may be interested in online from now on?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Makie-Sansui-Figure-Inro-gold-with-shell-netsuke-Edo-period-with-box-F-S/154101537456?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

Howard Dennis                                                           

[Babu]

Strangely it's far more valuable than the closing bid seems to indicate.

Over here that would be in an antique shop for $1200.

[Bugyotsuji]

Perhaps people know or sense something that we don’t. I think I would prefer to have it in hand before making a decision on purchase. (Having seen a Chinese fake.)

[hddennis]

6 hours ago, Babu said:

Strangely it's far more valuable than the closing bid seems to indicate.

Over here that would be in an antique shop for $1200.

I followed the Yahoo auction and it ended at $1500.00. Apparently neither eBay nor PayPal has taken any action as the seller is still running auctions with items he doesn't own and are on Yahoo put there by the actual owners?

 

Howard Dennis

[hddennis]

4 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Perhaps people know or sense something that we don’t. I think I would prefer to have it in hand before making a decision on purchase. (Having seen a Chinese fake.)

 

Bugyotsuji, If you even see one of the confirmed Chinese fakes again can you post a link or maybe pictures so we can learn what to look out for?

 

Howard Dennis

[Bugyotsuji]

Sure thing, Howard. Watch this space. I am not suggesting that yours is a fake, (much better quality) but it is something that people maybe need to be aware of.

Here is a medium quality fake from my bitter fruits box. People can play spot the anomalies!

[hddennis]

Bugyotsuji,

Thanks, appreciate the education. First I've seen one of these. I see what to look for in this one but you say this is medium quality and it worries me how hard it would be if they create fakes of a higher quality to tell the difference.

 

Howard Dennis

[Bugyotsuji]

Shocking at first to discover what some people are doing out there.

 

I guess if you are used to looking at good ones then you can easily spot the difference. If you are always looking at dross and borderline, then it might be confusing. 

[PietroParis]

For those who don’t know what to look for, could you please be more specific about the anomalies? I have a general feeling that the decoration is messy and inelegant, but the only obvious anomaly that I can detect is the uneven sprinkling of gold dust (?) in the third picture.

[Bugyotsuji]

In a fake they will want to use a variety of materials that look sort of like gold, but they will not usually want to waste money on real gold. Have a look at the 'gold' powders and pastes that are available on the market, yellow like brass or red like copper. The treatment of the insides of the drawers is usually crudely done (not in this case) and the body is probably easier to start with a composite material rather than real wood. Do the edges look plastic? (etc.)

 

But this is Howard's thread, and I do not want to diverge from his inro!

[Babu]

And of course it looks like a very poor quality inro few would covet.

It's not at this level you would get caught out though is it.

I would imagine there are some far better examples out there of higher quality copies?