TANAKA REIGYOKU: A FINE IVORY TUSK BOX AND COVER DEPICTING A SNAKE EATING A SPARROW

TANAKA REIGYOKU: A FINE IVORY TUSK BOX AND COVER DEPICTING A SNAKE EATING A SPARROW
By Tanaka Reigyoku, signed with two seals Tanaka and Reigyoku
Japan, Tokyo, Meiji period (1868-1912)
Finely carved and stained with a large snake twisting through the blossoming and leafing branches of a dogwood tree, snatching a bird in midflight as a second sparrow lands on the back of the snake in a frantic attempt to rescue its partner. The scales of the snake and feathers of the bird are naturalistically carved and surrounded by the curling branches carved in openwork. The cover naturalistically carved as a leaf surmounted by a finial in the shape of a young sparrow. Sealed to the base of the cover and box TANAKA and REIGYOKU.
HEIGHT 11.7 cm
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, a few small nicks to edges, some typical natural flaws and age cracks.
Provenance:
From a private collection in Belgium, published in the commissioned private catalogue 'The Nibajama collection' no. 10.
Tanaka Reigyoku (born in 1837), original name Tanaka Shigejiro, is listed in the Tokyo Meikokan (Famous Craftsmen in Tokyo). Tanaka Reigyoku exhibited at the 1876 Philadelphia Expo and 1878 Paris Expo. He also exhibited at the First (1877) and Second (1881) Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Inland) exhibitions in Tokyo, Japan.
Auction comparison:
Compare a related ivory box and cover depicting a quail family, unsigned, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 6 November 2012, London, lot 357
(sold for GBP 4,375)
.
Trade Certificate:
The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number 2022/BE04296/CE).
This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.