MINKO: A RARE AND IMPRESSIVE UMIMATSU (SEA PINE) KISERUZUTSU OF A CORAL FISHERMANBy Tanaka Juntoku Minko (1735-1816), signed Minko 岷江Japan, Tsu, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of senryu-zutsu type. The large section of umimatsu with stunning greenish marbling and typical concentric, reddish inclusions, carved as an exotic coral fisherman, also known as a South Sea Islander, standing on a rock embellished with inlaid stag antler barnacles, holding in one hand a large branch of coral, the other hand is held close to the face to secure the pipe. The eyes are inlaid in bone with red and black pupils. The cord channel runs through the right arm of the islander. With a bamboo and silvered metal pipe.LENGTH (without pipe) 21.6 cmCondition: Typical crackling and minor losses to the material as are to be expected. A small section of the inlaid coral is lost near the top. Generally, in very good condition.Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world’s leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.Auction comparison:Compare a closely related umimatsu pipe case, signed Minko with kakihan, at Christie’s, The Beresford Jones Collection of Japanese Art, 7 June 200, London, lot 42 (sold for 4,700 GBP).