Collectible Japanese Carved Netsuke - Makers Types Materials / Scarce Book

Description

40 black-and-white plates and 12 color photographs illustrate approximately 250  Japanese netsuke, “Making what we believe must be one of the most varied and beautiful collections of netsuke photographs yet published.”
THE NETSUKE OF JAPAN – Legends, History, Folklore and Customs
by Egerton Ryerson, Castle Books, NY, 1958.
“Anyone who knows how rich in variety, beauty, strangeness and humor netsuke are will realize how fascinating a picture gallery it is and how remarkable are some of the stories and other subjects they illustrate.  These subjects range from the everyday to the sublime, from the gay to the macabre.  Among them are plants, insects, birds, animals, incidents, and characters from history and legend, skulls, ghosts, signs of the zodiac, dances, musical instruments, games, trades and professions.  They represent a nation’s life and thought in microcosm.  Old Japan carried a miniature of itself at its girdle.”
This in-depth book covers by chapter:  Netsuke and Their Makers; Chinese Stories (Sennin and Other Mythological Characters; Legends and History; and Twenty-four Paragons); Japanese Legends and History; Fairy and Folk Tales; Gods, Saints and Demons; Mythical Creatures, Animals and Plants; Dances, Musical Instruments and Games; Activities, Objects, etc.; Pronunciation of Japanese Words; Glossary; Names, Bibliography; and Index.  “An authoritative book for collectors, students of art, of Japan and of folklore.”
8.9” x 10.3” hardback with dust cover in very good condition.  88 pages.
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