Bidspirit auction | Guy Shaw ”Carp with Coin”

Guy Shaw ”Carp with Coin” Netsuke w/ Custom Box - Guy Shaw (British, 1951-2003). Carved stag antler netsuke titled ”Carp with Coin, ” carved August 1991. Carved of stag antler with inlaid shell eye with an eyes-follow technique. The carp stained with a porous dye; the carved coin stained with silver nitrate. With a custom box carved from one piece of boxwood with a coin stained to match the netsuke coin. Signed on an 18k gold plate on the reverse of the coin. As commented on by Shaw: ”Money is a good slave, but a poor master. The fish, trapped within the coin, represents our subconscious drives = greed. Money is his master. With a cockerel's tail, he can't swim or fly and is trapped by this paradox. he cash coin has markings of a zeni, 17th century Chinese.” Provenance: Purchased from Guy Shaw on September 19, 1991. Exhibition: ”Netsuke: The Japanese Art of Miniature Carving, ” Minneapolis Institute of Art (April 4-July 5, 1998), Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University (August 21-October 24, 1999), Santa Barbara Museum of Art (September 9-November 19, 2000). Loan: Minneapolis Institute of Art, L.97.171.1a-c, 2000. (Netsuke) height: 1 3/4 in x width: 1 1/2 in x depth: 3/4 in. (Box) height: 1 in x diameter: 2 in. Condition: There are no breaks, losses, or signs of restoration. Light wear to the box.