MASASADA: A POWERFUL WOOD NETSUKE OF RAIJIN WITH DRUMBy Masasada (Masakazu), signed Masakazu 昌貞Japan, probably Tanba, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)A powerful wood netsuke of the thunder god Raijin squatting, wearing a large drum strapped to his back and holding a geta with both hands in front of him. The oni-like deity is portrayed with boldly carved musculature and well-defined anatomy. In contrast, his facial features are humoristic, animated and imbued with originality and character – very typical for this rare artist. Raijin has inlaid horns, teeth and fangs, and the studs on the drum and his eyes are inlaid in dark wood. Good himotoshi through the deity’s back and underside and the signature in a rectangular reserve underneath - MASAKAZU, however the artist is known as Masasada 昌貟.LENGTH 3.4 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear including some tiny nicks and a small loss to one inlay of the drum.Provenance: Collection Prof. Dr. Henk C. Hoogsteden, Rotterdam, purchased from Nohara Japanese Art, Belgium.Literature comparison:For a similar model of a Raijin see Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part A, p. 430. For a discussion on the artist see International Netsuke Society Journal, Vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 22-26, where Jay Hopkins suggests that the artist is probably of Tanba origin.Auction comparison:A closely related wood netsuke, by Masasada, was sold at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 25 September 2020, Vienna, lot 93 (sold for 5,688 EUR).