Featured Netsuke carvings, please help!

Good afternoon,
I would like to ask for your help in identifying the material and age of the attached figurines.
This is my first purchase ever of Netsuke carvings, and would like to ask for your advise (really basic) to learn about this art, and what is collectable and valuable.
The tortoise feels lighter in weight than the others and the orange one has a high gloss, is it painted?
What do they represent? Zodiac? And what are the signatures on them? The two holes in each are new to me, is there any use for them?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

I can't speak to materials, but these are not old netsuke. The holes are the same size. On a functional netsuke one would be larger than the other and they should connect inside. They were meant to accomodate a cord that, in turn, connected to a pouch or inro for carrying small items. Kimonos don't have pockets, but there's always those little bits that need to be carried. The cord would pass through the holes in the netsuke and then be knotted. One hole was made larger to accommodate the knot. This would be tucked through the obi with the netsuke preventing the cord from slipping free.

 

I'm with mos, these were made a few years ago, and none of them in Japan. Most of them were made on the island of Madura, Indonesia. The tortoise could be Chinese made.
The mouse or rat is a little charmer.

It takes years to know enough about netsuke to buy the right ones, learning the basics isn't enough.
I commend you for not buying newly carved ivory though. It depresses me when people do that.

 

The 3 that are not the red hand holding a monkey look like the boxwood netsuke being made in China, I believe following Japanese designs & signed with Japanese names. The names seem to have been adopted by & used consistently by individual carvers & in that way are signatures. Probably the hand is the same thing, just in a finish I haven't seen before on one of these.

I got quite smitten with these some years ago & found that although a design would be be done repeatedly, by different hands, I kept finding the same few signatures on the ones with the best execution & one, a top notch craftsman, who was always tweaking the design in little humorous ways & putting his signature in hard to find spots. I became able to pick out his work from a jumble of pieces without seeing the signature.

I would love to collect genuine netsuke, but have neither the money nor the knowledge.

And mice do make charming subjects.

 

Apparently the Chinese have been commisioning them in Madura, where labour is cheaper than in China. In spite of low wages, Chinese labour is getting more expensive.

And according to the more knowledgeable members of the netsuke forum the signatures are no actual signatures, and they are not used exclusively by one maker.
Maybe the ones you like come from one workshop/factory, but I don't know the specifics the way the knowledgeable members of the netsuke forum do.

They are charming, and a good alternative to the real deal. I try not to buy anything from present day China though, but that's just me.

 

The fact that a carving isn't old doesn't necessarily mean it isn't good. There are excellent craftsmen producing beautiful works in traditional forms today. And there will be more tomorrow.

 

Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge, everything has a beginning, and I am grateful to be guided by such lovely and knowledgeable people. There is a learning curve to everything, this is my beginning, and am celebrating the start of a new venture, there is always an excitement that comes with learning something new.
I would appreciate some links and books that you would recommend to start with.
I am in no rush, if time permits, I will learn about this beautiful art.
Thank you all.
Xx

 

The book 'Netsuke handbook of Ueda Reikichi' by Raymond Bushell is excellent. It dates from 1971 I think, but you can still get it second hand.

Links:

https://www.netsuke.org/

https://exhibitions.bristolmuseums.org.uk/netsuke/

https://netsuke.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/

https://www.rosemarybandini.com/signatures/

Fakes warning!:

https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/Fooled+By+Fakes:+Buyer+Beware!+By+Anita+Stratos

 

Hi Simona, I would strongly recommend visiting your local museums and looking at their netsuke if they have any or better still joining a local society which may allow you to handle the real thing. This is the best way to get a feel for these lovely things. I myself started collecting but quickly realised all I had was junk when confronted with the 'real thing' after seeing close up some famous collections. Eventually decided not to bother due to the high cost of authentic pieces ( I prefer old) and the staggering amount of fakes around and sadly even sold by reputable dealers etc. I found the legends and characters interesting and luckily these are represented in many other Japanese art forms. Take it slow and don't rush in , is my advice.
regards

 

I dont know a great deal about netsukes but noticed a lot came up at this auction I was watching a couple of weeks ago. Might give you a better idea of what collectors are looking for

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/284...uke-formerly-from-the-m-t-hindson-collection/