TWO JAPANESE SMOKING SETS

TWO JAPANESE SMOKING SETS

EDO OR MEIJI PERIOD, 18TH OR 19TH CENTURY

Both with stag antler kiseruzutsu of otoshi-zutsu form, the first pipe case carved with a sennin sat on the back of a giant catfish leaping amongst crashing waves, attached to a wood ashtray netsuke with a copper bowl, and a leather pouch with bone rings for fastening; the other kiseruzutsu carved with a panel depicting pomegranates under a reticulated shippo-tsunagi cash pattern, with a rattan and leather tonkotsu, the tobacco container embellished with a rectangular mae-kanagu featuring two quails, signed, the pipe cases 20.8cm and 17.5cm. (2)

The pipe case with the fish may be an illustration of the myth of the Namazu or Onamazu, a giant catfish that lives underneath the islands of Japan. The figure may represent the deity Takemikazuchi who controls the monster. When the beast escapes its divine keeper, its movements are said to cause earthquakes.

Provenance: an English private collection, Somerset.