Netsuke in Comparison: Motifs and Their Variations

• In-depth study of the various motifs of netsuke and their variants

• 100 masterpieces from a Swiss private collection

• Comparative images locate the pieces within the genre

Netsuke - classic belt decorations for men - are rooted in a historical, mythological and artistic tradition in Japanese culture. Woodcarvers and their pupils, even counterfeiters, continued the work of their role models, in copies or variants of what came before them, and even created major works of art with the smallest of dimensions.

Since the opening up of Japan in 1853, the miniature works have gained appreciation, and enthusiasts are found all over the world. Today netsuke are still being created in a great variety of motifs.

Netsuke in Comparison presents one hundred netsuke from a private collection. For the very first time, it endeavors to juxtapose them with comparative images from collections and literature in order to locate them within this genre and to convey something of their diversity and expressiveness.

Text in English and German.