† TETSURO: A LACQUERED WOOD GIGAKU MASK NETSUKE OF SUIKO-JUBy Ichikawa Tetsuro, signed Tetsuro 鉄琅 and kakihanJapan, Nara, late 19th to early 20th centuryWell carved, the smiling face with pierced narrowed eyes and mouth, centered by a long hook nose, his wrinkles neatly incised and elegant brows finely painted, the wood lacquered in brown, black, and red with skillfully executed simulated wear to depict an ancient mask, the himotoshi bar to the reverse signed TETSURO and kakihan.HEIGHT 5 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor and simulated wear.Provenance: Sachi Wagner, Midori Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA, 2 May 1990. Copy of the original invoice available. Canadian private collection, acquired from the above.Suiko-ju is the aide-de-camp to Suiko-o, according to Raymond Bushell; “both are drunken revelers. They are either Central Asian or Iranian, but the identification is uncertain.” See Bushell, Raymond (1985), Netsuke Masks, p. 68. Suiko translates to ‘drunken barbarian’.Ichikawa Tetsuro was a student of Kano Tessai in Nara. Like his teacher, he engaged in the reproductions of old objects of art, such as the present lot.Literature comparison: Compare a closely related Gigaku mask netsuke by Tessai, illustrated in Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part B, p. 866.Museum comparison:A carved wood mask of Suiko-ju, dated to the 7th century (Asuka period) is in the Tokyo National Museum, no. N-223, and described as follows: “This mask can really be considered to be a laughing drunk. As the back of the head is made of the same wood, the mask covers the back of the head rather shallowly. This mask is not only more excellent than the other four Suiko-ju (N-220, N-221, N-222 and N-223 [sic]),but is also one of the most excellent masks among all the Gigaku masks.”13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer’s premium – only for buyers within the EU.