style and subject matter, as well as by regional characteristics.
DECLINE (c. 1850-75)
Several factors contributed to the decline of netsuke art during the period immediately preceding and following the Meiji Restoration. With the arrival of Commodore Perry on Japanese shores in 1853 and the reopening of foreign trade, which had been virtually prohibited for over two centuries, Western-style clothing with pockets began to take the place of the kimono, and cigarettes replaced pipes. Ironically, tobacco, which two centuries previously had contributed greatly to the growth of netsuke art through general use of the tobacco pouch, now played a major role in its decline with the introduction of cigarettes.
The restoration of imperial rule brought emphasis on commerce and industry and a diminishing of art appreciation. In 1871 an edict abolished the wearing of swords, the very heart of the samurai tradition. Thus the wearing of inro and netsuke by samurai and the upper classes became a custom of the past, and netsuke moved from a traditional place in formal Japanese apparel to the status of collectors' items.
THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLECTING ERA (c. 1875)
Following the arrival of the Americans, foreign trade treaties were signed. Meanwhile, civil war broke out between the emperor's progressive party and the shogun. After a bitter struggle, the Tokugawa shogunate fell, and power was restored to the emperor. The year 1868 marked the beginning of the Meiji era, which lasted for forty-four years.
Ruling aristocrats were dispossessed, deprived of income, and forced to sell their art treasures. Their netsuke, now in disuse, together with those belonging to the samurai and other classes, were sold for incredibly small amounts. From that time on, the story of netsuke becomes the story of netsuke collecting among foreigners. Japanese netsuke wholesalers who had set up shops in the large cities during the heyday of netsuke carving became suppliers for exporters. Netsuke quickly became greatly desirable collectors' items, and both the Japanese countryside and junk shops in the cities were ransacked to fill the ever increasing demand from European and American dealers.
It is ironic that the netsuke, which rarely had been recognized or fully appreciated by the Japanese people, should have been one of the art forms to introduce Japan abroad.
During the latter part of the nineteenth century a few Japanese art exhibits were held in London, and in 1891 the Japan Society was founded and subsequently did a great deal to further interest in Japanese art. Even today, many netsuke collectors from all over the world hold membership in this organization.
Some of the largest early collections, running into the thousands of pieces, were to be found in England. Even earlier, French collections came upon the scene. Although smaller than those in England, they were considered of finer quality. Other important collections appeared in America and Germany. Albert Brockhaus, a German collector, began his collecting in 1877 and became a recognized authority on the subject.
As this first generation of netsuke enthusiasts passed away during the first quarter of the twentieth century, most of their collections were sold on the open market. Very few of their heirs shared the netsuke fever, and, with the exception of a large collection that belonged to Sir A. W. Franks and was willed to the British Museum, few became bequests to the public domain. Thus most of the large collections, representing the cream of Japanese netsuke, were broken up and, largely through auction sales, passed into the hands of the second generation of netsuke collectors. One of the outstanding second-generation collectors was M. T. Hindson, widely recognized as a distinguished netsuke scholar.
Prices still were comparatively low, but the day of concentration of very large collections in the hands of a few collectors was over. Thanks to a number of experts and brilliant authorities like Henri Joly, the circle of knowledgeable collectors was widening. Good netsuke could now be found throughout the world in antique shops such as Yamanaka's in London, a branch of the famous Osaka and Kyoto Yamanaka's. They could also be bought in large department stores like Liberty's in London and the Printemps and Bon Marché stores in Paris, and from smaller dealers such as S. Bing, whose Paris shop was a rendezvous for netsuke scholars.
Immediately after World War II, some very fine antique netsuke owned by Japanese families came on the market in various cities in Japan. Many of them were acquired by Americans in the army of occupation at ridiculously low prices, sometimes for a package of cigarettes. Netsuke thus acquired formed the nucleus of several important collections.
The third generation of collectors is now spread throughout the entire world. Netsuke in limited numbers can be found in stores and shops or purchased from private dealers in almost every country, but the major sales of antique masterpieces still are made at the London auctions, where prices occasionally pass the $10,000 mark for a first-rate netsuke by a famous carver.
A collector of antique netsuke today must have a large bank account and an extensive knowledge of a complex, confusing subject. At the same time he must be content with a modest-sized collection. Occasionally, however, a rare bargain can still be found, and there is more challenge and excitement than ever in the quest for and possession of good netsuke.
And collections of “good netsuke" can and should include works of some outstanding living Japanese netsuke carvers. Their skill can match that of the great carvers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, and their artistry, originality, and imagination represent a fresh and enchanting approach to the traditional netsuke art form.
THE POST-RESTORATION PERIOD (c. 1875-1925)
The netsuke produced in the period roughly covering the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century were generally classified as “modern." As the available supply of antique netsuke in Japan began to dwindle, many carvers who had lost their home market began to produce quick, cheap imitations for export. Because these products were so inferior to the beautiful antique netsuke that had been coming from Japan since the reopening of foreign trade, a distorted image was born and still persists in the minds of many collectors: old netsuke are good, and new netsuke are bad per se.
Actually, however, there were still fine netsuke artist-carvers in Japan, and they continued to carve netsuke and instruct young carvers. Their netsuke sales suffered because of the poor quality of many of the ‘‘modern" export netsuke, and many carvers turned to making okimono (alcove ornaments), which had begun to find favor with foreigners. Often when an okimono was ordered by a foreigner, a netsuke was submitted as a design model. If it was satisfactory, the carver was asked to make an okimono ten (or more) times netsuke size. The great carvers went more or less underground during this period, as far as netsuke carving was concerned, but they were definitely keeping the centuries-old art alive.
THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (c. 1925-present)
By the 1930s, interest in netsuke collecting was showing new life, particularly throughout the United States. This revival was due largely to the illustrated books on netsuke that were being published in English. Also rising in America was a wealthy leisure class that was becoming interested in art collecting and in world travel, especially to the Orient.
Some good contemporary netsuke began to reach foreign markets and were purchased not only by new collectors but also by some of the collectors of antique netsuke who recognized the beauty and expert craftsmanship of these modern pieces. Mediocre and even poor netsuke were also being exported from Japan—and still are—but the first-rank living carvers were beginning to gain some recognition.
And then came World War II. Carvers either went into military service or worked in factories. Ivory could not be imported, so most of the few netsuke that were being carved in leisure hours were made from wood or old billiard balls. It was close to 1950 before contemporary netsuke were once again reaching American and European dealers.
Today,
