Featured Ivory & Shibuyama Whist or Bezique Counter, Signed

This was one of uncle Leonard's treasures. I posted here because I find it jewel-like in many respects...Mods can move it, if inappropriate.

3 1/2" X 2 5/16" X 3/8", ~2.6 oz.

Most shibayama I have seen shows moderate to severe 'jewel' loss; I'm so happy that hasn't happened to this, an' I take serious care to protect it from threat.

Until I can get a translation of the artist's signature I can only guess that it's early Meiji. When & if I know more, I'll add that information here.

At some point soon it will go, with several other Japanese antique items, to a major Asian art auction house. eBay is not an ideal venue, especially for ivory.

Your questions an' comments are welcome, an' thanks for lookin'!
Edit: My spelling is incorrect; should be shibayama vs shibuyama.
I'd change the title, but haven't yet figured out how.

 

Mah johng or...? I'd have nabbed that so fast at the right price. Whoever made it cared.

 

I'll be happy to get ~$300-500 for it. Leonard probably gave almost nothing for it...a few packs of cigarettes, or Hershey bars. Some of the stories about bartering American incidentals for valuable antiquities are truly heart-wrenching; families an' individuals offering what we would consider national treasures in return for, in one instance, a sack of onions!

 

You can't eat antiquities, and if your kids are hungry you do what you have to. I understand it, but it's sad that they were in those straits.

 

It's not an artists mark, it literally says 'shibayama' 芝山

 

Wow...Thank you!
That seems to indicate a later era, perhaps Taisho.
It also raises a modest question: Why is it so marked, a self-referent identification...in a Japanese written script (Kanji?). One would think it wouldn't need such description...or at least it seems so to me.

 

I have seen a lot of these and most are referred to as Victorian whist counters. I was given to understand that they were a big export item to the west. This one is much prettier, and as you say, more complete then most. I have a simpler one myself with damages that I bought for cheap as fodder for a someday project. Most are on a plain wood base.

 

Absolutely beautiful ! My Dad was there in WWII during The Occupation. Uncle Len sounds like quite a guy.

 

Maybe Shibayama became a factory/workshop name?


"However it was during the 19th century that the Shibayama family (from whom this style of work derives its name) developed the technique into a highly detailed and truly stunning art form that became hugely popular during the Meiji period."

https://steveslyjapaneseart.com/product-category/shibayama/

 

"The presence of a major name either as a retailer such as the Ozeki Company, (who enjoyed a reputation as suppliers of the very finest Shibayama) or maker such as that of the Shibayama family will also have a dramatic effect on value."

- See more at: https://steveslyjapaneseart.com/product-category/shibayama/

So it IS signed! I couldn't be happier, an' Thank You, Bronwen, for that informative link!

 

Beautiful, whit.

I agree, that's very sad and unjust. But on the other hand, they got something in return, which is more than the population of E and SE Asia got during the extreme hardships of the Japanese occupation. They even stole food from the local population during the wartime famines in Vietnam, Java and Madura.
The horrendous Japanese war crimes in occupied Asia, including the 1937 "Rape of Nanking", were supported by most of the Japanese population.
That doesn't mean that the Japanese should have been treated the same as they treated their millions of victims, but there is a difference between getting a sack of food in return for a precious item and having your last morsel of food stolen from you, on top of everything else that was stolen.

 

The Japanese military had a LOT to answer for, both for what they did to others and to their own population.

 

That goes for most militaries and dictatorships throughout the ages.

 

That's great, I'd not come across Shibayama as being a family name of the creation before, amazing what you can miss even after 25 years of interest in things.

 

Japan was extremely cruel. I don't think there has been a comparable large and all-encompassing scale of war crimes by a nation since the first The Hague Convention (1899), or the second (1907). Slave labour using both civilians and POWs, sex slaves, also very young girls, concentration camps etc, etc.
The Indonesians say that three years of Japanese occupation caused more devastation than 300 years of VOC and Dutch occupation, which is saying a lot.

 

Germany........?

 

Got lots of words for German WWII military scum, but none printable.

 

Amen, brother!

 

That is absolutely gorgeous!!!! I just bought my first one a few weeks ago. Wood with three insects missing their mop or stone. It’s one of the rings I have that I wish I had kyras skill for. I was thinking maybe I’d just try to ooze some shiny nail polish into the depressions. I’ll probably even mess that up.

Came to say though that if you can afford to wait on sending your Japanese things to auction maybe you should. From what I understand by closely following the word of a prominent Asian art dealer the Japanese market is a shadow of its former self. Prices are extremely low on Japanese things vs. what they once were. I see a lot of nice Japanese things go cheap at the many auctions I participate in. Woodblocks seem to do pretty good but other stuff not as much. It may be worth waiting for the market to climb back up a bit if can. Just a thought.

 

Sounds like wisdom. I had a couple small indicators of the slow market sometime in the middle of summer, so your counsel is accurate. A few months may tell of an improvement...Thanks!