SIGNED TAMETAKA, EDO PERIOD (LATE 18TH CENTURY)

Tametaka of Nagoya is one of the few netsuke artists listed in the 1781 reference work Soken kisho as a resident of somewhere other than Osaka, Kyoto, or Edo. He is described as having his own distinctive style, and is said to be famous for carving raised designs on the costumes of his figure netsuke.1

1. Inaba Tsuryu Shin'emon, Soken kisho [Strange and wonderful sword- fittings], vol. 7, Furoku netsuke-shi meifu narabi ni zu [Supplement with illustrations and a list of netsuke artists] (Osaka, 1781), p. 10.