Netsuke of Two Men at Kubi-hiki, the Neck Tug of War, Stained and Engraved, Mammoth Tusk
Netsuke of Two Men at Kubi-hiki, the Neck Tug of War, Stained and Engraved, Mammoth Tusk
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $246, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 4.2 cm | 1.7 in |
| Height | 3.3 cm | 1.3 in |
| Depth | 2.3 cm | 0.9 in |
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
A Fair Contest
Everything a figure netsuke should be: compact, funny, and alive from every angle.
Best for: Collectors of Hokusai Manga subjects and humorous netsuke
Condition notes
Light marks of handling and age. Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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All sales are final. Please read our refund policy before purchase.
Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
Examined in Tokyo, one price, insured to your door. How buying from Japonista works · Join the Circle, free
A trial of strength: two seated men, a cord looped round both their necks, lean back and pull, each grimacing and grinning at once.
The Piece
Kubi-hiki is a parlour contest in which the first to be dragged forward loses. The carver catches the instant of greatest strain, veins standing on the brows, toes dug in, while keeping the humour of two friends who know how foolish they look. The cord itself is carved free between them, a real feat at this scale.
Their robes are stained a warm brown and engraved with small crests and diaper patterns, and the underside shows the soles of the feet, cord holes and a red seal signature. Light marks of age and handling are noted.
Iconography and Meaning
Strength games such as kubi-hiki, arm wrestling and ude-zumo fill Hokusai's Manga and were popular netsuke subjects because they show character rather than rank. Legend sets the same contest between the warrior Asahina and an oni.
Netsuke were the first Japanese objects that the collectors of nineteenth-century Paris and London fell in love with: the Goncourt brothers, Siegfried Bing and the circle around the Impressionists kept them in their pockets and wrote of them as sculpture complete in miniature. That first wave of Japonisme has never really ended, and a carving of this quality shows why.
Details
- Type: Katabori netsuke, carved in the round
- Subject: Two men at the neck tug of war
- Material: Woolly mammoth tusk
- Technique: Hand carving, staining and ink engraving
- Colour: Ivory white with warm brown and black
- Length: 42 mm (1.7 in)
- Width: 23 mm (0.9 in)
- Height: 33 mm (1.3 in)
- Period: Contemporary, in the classical tradition
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 mm.
Condition
- Light marks of handling and age are present; the Desk will send close photographs of any area on request.
- Staining and ink engraving are bright, and the polish is even.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade B (good, light wear) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Carved by hand in Japan from the tusk of the woolly mammoth, an extinct species whose fossil tusk is not elephant ivory and is not listed under CITES. It is a contemporary work in the classical tradition, examined and photographed in Japan before dispatch. Rules on mammoth tusk differ between countries and, in the United States, between states; please confirm that it may be received at your address before you buy. Keep away from direct sun, dry heat and sudden changes of humidity, and handle with clean dry hands.
Delivery from Japan
Wrapped by hand in Japan in soft tissue and a rigid case, and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. More in Netsuke, Sagemono and Inro and Okimono, Figurines and Statues.
Concierge
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