(SOLD) A fine wood netsuke of a monkey gripping a large bamboo shoot.
Signed: 左里 Sari
5cm High
Beautifully modelled in that recognisable 'freestyle' format that so encapsulates the artistic identity of Sari. I have been informed previously that Sari was born in approximately 1783 and was originally apprenticed to Tametaka (Nagoya, SK 1781). Tametaka died in 1794, thus if this information is correct his apprenticeship must have been short-lived and likely Sari's development had not surpassed the basic training of the art when his master passed. Sari apparently became the master of the majestic artist Hidari Issan and if this is accurate then the lineage of Sari is illustrious. My understanding of the artist is he was exactly that, an artist, with a recognisable freedom of expression. This recently acquired subject of a Monkey is to my knowledge unrecorded and this example has not been on the market in some 40 years.
