A SUPERB WOOD MANJU NETSUKE OF SQUIRREL WITH GRAPES Unsigned Japan, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Chappell, Welch (1999) Netsuke: The Japanese Art of Miniature Carving, no. 180. The manju netsuke of oval tama-shape, carved in the front in relief with a baying squirrel, its well-carved luxurious tail flowing upwards, beneath a dense canopy of grapes with finely carved leaves and spiraling tendrils. Some black staining used in the crevices for effect, the wood beautifully worn and bearing a very attractive dark patina. Very large asymmetrical himotoshi through the back, the larger hole generously excavated to accommodate the knot. HEIGHT 4.5 cm Condition: Very good condition, the surface pleasingly worn with a fine patina. Provenance: Ex-collection Richard R. Silverman, purchased from Nakayama, Tokyo, in 1972. Richard R. Silverman (1932-2019) was a renowned Asian art collector with one of the largest private collections of netsuke outside of Japan. He lived in Tokyo between 1964 and 1979 and began to collect netsuke there in 1968. Since the 1970s, he wrote and lectured about netsuke and was an Asian art consultant for Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. His gift of 226 ceramic netsuke to the Toledo Museum of Art constitutes perhaps the largest public collection of these miniature clay sculptures in the world. After moving to California, Silverman became a member of the Far Eastern Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1984. In 1993, he joined LACMA's Executive Board. He served on the board of directors for the International Society of Appraisers from 1986 to 1994 and served nine years as chair for the City of West Hollywood Fine Arts Commission. Richard Silverman was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his decades-long promotion of Japanese culture. The motif of squirrel and grapes is a highly auspicious subject signifying an abundance in fortune and offspring and was introduced in China during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126).