531. JAPANESE SCHOOL, EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). Set of seven Nō theatre masks.

Lot description

The Deigan, Yakan, Shinkaku and Shikami masks are signed on the front as “Deme Mitsutada (c. 1779-1833)”, also known by other signatures such as Mitsuyuki and Deme Naka, which allows us to attribute them to a carver from the Deme lineage of sculptors from Echizen, who specialised in Nō masks from the late 16th century to the late Edo period. It is known that many carvers from this lineage signed directly with Deme's own seal, as in the case of the Togou mask. Deme is a traditional surname in Japan, known for this prominent family of Nō mask carvers.
 
The stamp on the Yase-Otoko mask could be attributed to the artist Kodama Oumi, who was active in the late 17th century and whose last recorded work dates from 1704. He is also known as Kodama Omi Mitsumasa or Tenkaichi Omi and is considered one of the most renowned mask carvers from the Edo period.
 
The Sankoujou mask is a 19th-century reproduction of a mask made by the famous copyist Tenka-ichi Kawachi, who was a master in the 17th century specialising in accurately copying classic Nō masks. His skills earned him the title of ‘Tenkaichi’, a title given to elite craftsmen who faithfully reproduced masks from the past.
 
Carved, stuccoed and polychrome wood. One of them has natural hair inclusions.
 
Flaws and cracks on the polychrome.
Some of them come with a silk cover from the same period.
 
Deigan 21.2 x 13.5 x 8.3 cm.
Yakan 21.3 x 17.3 x 11 cm.
Togou 22.2 x 15.5 x 10.6 cm.
Shinkaku 22.6 x 14.7 x 9.5 cm.
Shikami 20.8 x 15.6 x 9 cm.
Yase - Otoko 19.5 x 14.8 x 8.5 cm.
Sankoujou 20.2 x 15.7 x 9.5 cm.
 
 
Provenance: Faure family collection, France. According to documentation and family information, the masks were a gift to the painter and collector Maurice Faure (1878-1954) from Viscount Motono Ichirō, Minister Plenipotentiary and Ambassador of Japan in Paris, as part of a diplomatic and artistic exchange. The collection has remained in the same family ever since, passing down through the direct line to his great-grandson Yves Faure.