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Collections

Seiyōdō Gansui
Rats on Boar Tuskdated 1830

Not on view
Carved ivory or bone tusk-shaped object with ink-painted mice and a small metal inlay, with East Asian script inscriptions along the base
Carved ivory netsuke in the form of a curved tusk, with two finely detailed mice rendered in naturalistic brown and gray tones near the upper end; rows of Japanese calligraphy inscribed along the lower shaft; small suspension hole visible at center.

Seiyōdō Gansui, Rats on Boar Tusk, dated 1830, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection, photo © Museum Associates / LACMA

Artist or Maker
Seiyōdō Gansui
Japan, 1809-1848
Title
Rats on Boar Tusk
Place Made
Japan
Date Made
dated 1830
Period
Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium
Boar tusk with sumi, inlays
Dimensions
4 5/16 x 1 9/16 x 11/16 in. (11.3 x 4.0 x 1.8 cm)
Credit Line
Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number
M.91.250.33
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Japanese Art
Selected Bibliography
  • 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.
  • Lazarnick, George. Netsuke and Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures, vol. 1. Honolulu: Reed Publishers, 1981.
  • Bushell, Raymond. Collector's Netsuke. New York: Walker/Weatherhill, 1971.
  • Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
  • Catalog of an Exhibition of Netsuke from the Collection of Raymond Bushell. London: Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., 1984.
  • Singer, Robert T., and Kawai Masatomo, editors. The Life of Animals in Japanese Art. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2019.

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