The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

by Bushell, Frances; Goodall, Hollis; Atchley, Virginia G.; Davey, Neil K.; Drosse, Christine; Izzard, Sebastian; Madden, Odile

• ISBN13: 9781588860354
• ISBN10: 1588860353
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Art Media Resources Ltd

Summary

Netsuke are Japanese miniature sculptures used as counterweights for objects suspended from a man's sash. This art form peaked during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when carvers produced masterpieces in a vast range of materials and subjects. Raymond Bushell was considered one of the foremost experts on netsuke in the world, and the works he and his wife, Frances, gave to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are a distillation of the finest netsuke collection ever formed. It includes superb examples by all of the netsuke masters as well as artists who produced comparatively few netsuke, and examples of rare subjects and unusual materials. In The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, exquisite color photography and scholarly insights bring alive this amazing tradition. It features more than 820 netsuke, with accompanying text that gives a complete overview of changing tastes in netsuke collecting and carving throughout its history and into the present day. Each netsuke has a detailed descri