The World of Netsuke. Werdelmann Collection at the museum kunst palast Dusseldorf

683 illustrations in colour with 1070 objects, 407 signatures reproduced.

Netsuke, the Japanese male belt ornaments of outstanding craftsmanship, aroused much interest in the Western world already in the late 19th century. They appeal by their variety of shapes and the sheer endless number of motifs and still continue to fascinate a wide audience; they have become coveted collectors’ items worldwide, as the most recent auction results emphatically show.

The attraction of netsuke lies in the expressive power achieved within a small space and the 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 to the prosaic paraphernalia of everyday life. One of the world’s most comprehensive netsuke collections is the Werdelmann Collection at the museum kunst palast Düsseldorf with its almost 1100 objects, the result of more than thirty-five years of committed collecting. The exhibition presents a unique survey of this art form from the 17th to the 20th century.

 All 1070 objects are reproduced in brilliant colour photographs and described according to the most recent scholarly research. An extensive list of signatures with commentary rounds off the publication. Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz, an acknowledged authority on netsuke, has been responsible for the scholarly evaluation and interpretation of the collection. Highly knowledgeable about the stylistic history of netsuke and its artists and regional characteristics, she has produced an important work of reference.
Ideally supplementing our successful book on the Trumpf Collection of netsuke at the Lindenmuseum in Stuttgart, the present publication is bound to prove a sought-after new reference book for collectors, connoisseurs and aficionados of netsuke.