The world of netsuke

by Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz

"Netsuke, the Japanese male belt ornaments of outstanding craftsmanship, aroused much interest in the Western world already in the late nineteenth century. They appeal by their variety of shapes and the sheer endless number of motifs and still continue to fascinate a wide audience as well as having become coveted collectors' items." "One of the world's most comprehensive netsuke collections is the Werdelmann Collection at the museum kunst palast Dusseldorf with its almost 1100 objects, the result of more than thirty-five years of committed collecting and thus a unique survey of this Japanese art from the seventeenth to the twentieth century." "The attraction of netsuke lies in their expressive power and masterly execution in the most varied materials, such as wood, ivory, and horn. The subjects illustrate almost all aspects of Japanese culture: Buddhist figures, gods of good luck, animals, plants, fruit and flowers, literary characters, foreigners, children, masks and occupations, down