Lager than life, the snail emerges from its shell, and bends over it, its antennae extended and the himotōshi passing beneath the fleshy foot with undulating edge. The body displays regular rows of tiny pimples rendered in ukibori which contrast nicely with the fine curvilinear grooves on the shell’s spiral. Signed and dated in a rectangular reserve Tanba Sasayama Shuntoan Toyomasa gyonen rokujūhachi Tenpō jūichi nen ne no yo chū saku (made by Shunshōan Toyomasa from Sasayama in Tanba at the age of 68, [in the year of] Tenpō 11 [year of] the rat, in spring The unusually large and very skillfully carved netsuke derives its appeal from the contrasts between the finely incised grooves of the snail shell and the regularly sized, graduated small bumps in ukibori. The use of ukibori is very rarely encountered in Toyomasa's netsuke. Unlike his other subjects, the snail certainly does not occupy a central place in the work of Naito Toyomasa (1773–1856), yet on closer inspection it reflects essential stylistic characteristics of his oeuvre, as well as his talent for pairing graphic, almost caricature-like elements with meticulous naturalism. This is particularly evident in his animals, and above all in his hares. Stocky, almost cubistically rounded bodies reduced to simple volumes, with overlong ears, whose button eyes appear charming, almost childlike, yet which radiate immediate vitality both in the rendering of their fur and in their posture. This applies both to the seated examples (cf. a netsuke of a seated hare from the Julius Katchen collection (1926–1969), see Arlette Katchen, Netsuke 7, Paris 2010, p. 167, cat. no. K 184, as well as one from the collection of the French industrialist Georges Couzon (1889–1986)) and to the considerably rarer leaping examples (cf. a netsuke of a hare from the Albert Brockhaus collection (1855–1921), sold at Lempertz, Cologne, 27.06.2020, lot 532). While the snail was a common subject in the 19th century, especially for carvers from the central Japanese regions of Gifu and Nagoya, Toyomasa succeeds in rendering it in his entirely personal style. The incisions along the snail’s back are powerful, almost dominant. The long, minutely carved spiral is rhythmic and lend the shell a graphic quality. In contrast, the naturalistic surface of the snail's skin, rendered in ukibori technique with its slimy sheen, stands apart, while the mouth area is rendered in a playful manner. This mannered naturalism makes the snails quintessential works by Toyomasa. The present example is one of only six documented snails from the hand of this carver. The elaborate three-column signature cartouche refers, alongside the name, to the carver's age at the time of the netsuke's completion. Five further examples — with slightly differing signatures — are known: one from the collection of the brothers Edmond (1822–1896) and Jules (1830–1870) de Goncourt, illustrated in the Meinertzhagen Card Index (vol. II, p. 953) with a single-line rounded cartouche and the note that it was made at the age of 62. A further piece — also made at the age of 62, with a two-line signature cartouche — was in the collection of the American ophthalmologist Joseph Kurstin (1933–2021) until its sale in 2018 (ill. in: Barbra Teri Okada and Mary Gardner Neill, Real and Imaginary Beings, New Haven 1980, p. 76, no. 66, and George Lazarnick, Netsuke and Inro Artists, Honolulu 1981, p. 1193). The third snail, made at the age of 60, was in the possession of Swiss collector Harriet Szechenyi (1922–2009) until 2011, and previously in the famous Anne Hull Grundy collection (1926–1984). Its signature is comparable to the present piece in terms of structure and detail (ill. in: Rosemary Bandini, Shishi and other Netsuke, p. 130, no. 189). A snail made at the age of 68 was in the collection of the enthusiastic Darmstadt snail-lover and netsuke collector — or vice versa — Theodor Hahn (1933–2012). This example corresponds to the present snail both in terms of the artist's age and, above all, in the title "Shunshoan" used in the signature. This term refers to Toyomasa's professional title (go), which he held as a master of ikebana, though he used it only rarely. A further snail, whose signature was not available at the time of going to press, came up for sale at Drouot in Paris on 9 March 2007. When making a stylistic comparison with other regions and their carvers, it is striking that Toyomasa, in his rendering of surfaces, bears a considerably closer resemblance to the carvers of the Iwami region than to those from Gifu or Nagoya. The skin is rendered in ukibori technique rather than being covered with a dense, net-like diamond pattern, and the elaborate signatures described above also bear a much closer resemblance to the signatures of Iwami carvers than to the simple signatures consisting of two or three kanji (cf. a netsuke of a snail by Baiseki, late 18th/early 19th century, from the Robert Steer Huthart collection (1922–2021), in: Joe Earle, The Robert S. Huthart Collection of Iwami Netsuke, Hong Kong 2000, vol. II, p. 296, no. 266). Throughout the entire 19th century, carvers and schools attempted the depiction of the snail. All shared the ambition to render the snail as naturalistically as possible, both in its movement and in its physical qualities. Toyomasa interprets his snail with rich contrasts, elaborate workmanship, and at the same time slightly larger than life — qualities that grant it a special status within this motif and simultaneously attest to the carver's skill and extravagance.
Height 2.9 cm; width 4.8 cm
Collection Frank Lapisch (1934-2002), acquired in February 1988

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