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Collections

Gechū
Chinese Lion18th century

Not on view
Small ivory or bone sculpture of a seated lion-like creature with open mouth, inlaid eye, and densely incised curling fur, with rounded spherical forms across the mane
Ivory netsuke of a seated shishi, mouth open and head raised, with densely incised swirling mane and fur detail throughout the compact, rounded form.
Ivory netsuke with finely incised line work, depicting bare human feet and legs emerging from swirling waves; a small himotoshi hole visible at left, with a rectangular cartouche bearing Japanese characters at center.
Ivory netsuke of a seated shishi, with open mouth, curling mane, and globular ornaments, densely incised with fine line work darkened in the recesses.

Gechū, Chinese Lion, 18th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Gechū
Title
Chinese Lion
Place Made
Japan
Date Made
18th century
Period
Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium
Ivory with staining, sumi, inlays
Dimensions
2 1/4 × 2 1/4 × 1 7/8 in. (5.72 × 5.72 × 4.76 cm)
Credit Line
Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number
AC1998.249.136
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Japanese Art
Selected Bibliography
  • Phillips, Phoebe, ed. The Collectors' Encyclopedia of Antiques. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1973.
  • Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
  • Goodall, Hollis, Virginia G. Atchley, Neil K. Davey, Christine Drosse, Sebastian Izzard, Odile Madden, and Robert T. Singer. The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Chicago: Art Media Resources, Inc.; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2003.
  • Komada, Makiko. Netsuke. Tokyo: Kadokawa, 2015.
  • Atchley, Virginia G. "The Pavilion of Japanese Art in Los Angeles." Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal 8, no.4 (1988): 18-25.