AN AMUSING WOOD MASK NETSUKE OF A LONG-NOSED TENGUUnsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Published: Bulletin Franco Japonais, no. 50, October 1996, p. 26, no. 50.Expressively and amusingly carved as a tengu with its long nose bent to one side, his face contorted in a pained grimace, the eyes with large pierced pupils evoking a distraught expression, the details deeply carved and heightened by skillful staining.HEIGHT 4.2 cmCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Provenance: Kunsthandel Klefisch, 24 June 1995, Cologne. European collection P. Jacquesson, acquired from the above.Tengu masks are popularly used at tengu festivals held all over Japan, from Tengu Matsuri on Mt. Tengu in Hokkaido, to the Shimokitazawa Tengu Festival in Tokyo. While the tengu Matsuri is a more traditional affair, the Shimokitazawa festival is a modern take on setsubun, where beans are thrown to ward away evil. People dressed as tengu take to the streets, visiting shops and homes to throw their beans of evil’s bane to bring good luck and fortune.In netsuke art, the tengu mask often takes on a phallic meaning due to its long nose. In the present netsuke, however, this symbolism has been inverted, as the nose does not protrude outward but is bent to the side, a surely painful and emasculating experience which nonetheless elicits amusement.Literature comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke depicting Hyottoko, also with a long nose twisted to one side, albeit with a stern expression, illustrated in Bushell, Raymond (1985), Netsuke Masks, pls. 254.Museum comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke by Kokeisai Sansho, also depicting a long-nosed tengu with similar expression, 5.4 cm high, dated late 19th to early 20th century, previously in the collection of Raymond Bushell and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.91.250.341, illustrated in Bushell, Raymond Netsuke (1975) Familiar & Unfamiliar, p. 146, no. 315 and Bushell, Raymond (1985), Netsuke Masks, pl. 327. Compare also a related wood netsuke by Deme Uman, also depicting a long-nosed tengu, 5.7 cm high, dated 19th century, previously in the Trumpf collection and now in the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, inventory number OA 18947, illustrated in Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz (2000) Netsuke: Trumpf Collection, vol. 2, Linden Museum, 2000, p. 217, no. 432.