OUCHI GYOKUSO: A VERY FINE SO SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A TEMPLE SERVANT WITH MOKUGYOBy Ouchi Gyokuso (1879-1944), signed Gyokuso 玉藻Japan, Tokyo, early 20th centuryVery finely carved as a man chanting and wearing a mokugyo strapped around his neck and beating it with a striker, the free hand resting against the side of his face, the double-dragon headed mokugyo with a loose ball inside. His patterned robe is well-carved, the hem lifted and tucked into the obi, the signature GYOKUSO incised to the interior of the hem, flanked by two himotoshi, an inro with en suite manju netsuke hanging from the obi. The lightly stained wood is superbly finished as is typical for this school.HEIGHT 5.7 cmCondition: Excellent condition.Provenance: Collection Prof. Dr. Henk C. Hoogsteden, Rotterdam, purchased at Lempertz, The Kolodotschko Collection of Netsuke II, 6 December 2014, Cologne, lot 942.Ouchi Gyokuso (1879-1944) was the father of Ouchi Sosui (1911-1966) and together with Morita Soko (1879-1942) the most important pupil of Miyazaki Joso (1835-1910), the founder of the important So school in Tokyo.Auction comparison:Compare to a closely related wood netsuke by Morita Soko, depicting the same subject, at Kunsthandel Klefisch, Asiatische Kunst, 16 July 2005, lot 675 (illustrated on pl. XV).