Product Description

The Ultimate Netsuke Bibliography is a comprehensive bibliography of more than 4,400 bibliographic print and non-print entries covering all aspects of Japanese netsuke, the miniature carvings which Japanese men used to suspend various items from the sash belt that fastened their kimono. It is organized into 15 major and 5 minor categories. Each category is further divided into 11 subcategories. Additional features include four indices (Author, Journal, Place, and Subject), and a variety of appendices.

It contains 2,196 books, 1,861 journal articles (457 from the Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal), 367 from the Journal of the International Netsuke Collectors Society 1,494 auction catalogs, 431 items in French, 254 items in Japanese, 60 items prior to 1900, including 9 auction catalogs.

Includes most materials published through the end of 1998. A section of 'Late Arrivals', including last minute submissions and items in early 1999, will be listed as well. This volume is a necessity for every netsuke collector, bibliophile, art library and museum.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2275339 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent research source
Norman Sandfield has saved everyone a lot of time and effort with this excellent annotated guide to the world of these miniature Japanese carvings. References abound on netsuke types, specific pieces, inro, ojime, sagemono, and toggles in addition to those on legends, subject matter, techniques, materials, and various artist's schools.

Not content to confine himself to the English literature, outstanding foreign references have been included. Any serious collector of netsuke, okimono, or sagemono must consider this book.

An incredible source of information, now partly available online as well
Norman Sandfield spent many years collecting information on netsuke from a variety of formats and languages, including books, articles in newspapers, magazines and newsletters, convention programs, auction catalogs, dealers brochures, and more. This collection was listed in this volume in 1999, and updated in 2001. It has to be emphasized that many of these materials are not online in any format, and no search engine, Google included, can find them all.

Mr. Sandfield has now donated over 3,000 of the over 4,400 items to the Norman L. Sandfield Library of Netsuke and Oriental Art at the Toledo Museum of Art Reference Library. Additional items will be contributed to the collection over time.

You can search the entire collection by going to the Reference Library section of the Toledo Museum of Art. Mr. Sandfield is donating his collection to Toledo for the following reasons:

"According to Mr. Sandfield, the Toledo Museum of Art is one of only two museums in the U.S. to show a serious, active, and continuing interest in netsuke. This is primarily due to the work of his long-time friend and collector, Richard S. Silverman, whose efforts have helped to strengthen the holdings of netsuke at the Toledo Museum of Art. The other museum is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which has a fine netsuke collection from Raymond Bushell and the important Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Netsuke Library."

The Ultimate Netsuke Bibliography will continue to have great value to serious netsuke collectors for the foreseeable future, according to the Library:

"Sandfield's bibliography contains records for over 4400 items and includes not only the categories of titles mentioned above, but has citations for articles in netsuke journals, general periodicals, convention and seminar programs, and non-print format, and ephemera. Eleven appendices and four indices to the 24 chapters and 211 sub-chapters offer guidance to accessing the worldwide wealth of information available. Particularly interesting are Appendix A (Basic netsuke glossary), Appendix C (Building your own netsuke libraries), and Appendix I (Some statistics). The supplement brings in-print access to 2001. It is hoped that Mr. Sandfield's complete database will be available to interested users sometime in the future."

Eventually all these netsuke riches may be available online; in the meantime this volume remains an essential resource.

Robert C. Ross 2008

Obsolete book for bibliophiles
I don't recommend this book, obviously written for bibliophiles prior the discovery of computer's search engines.
This book is a compilation of bibliography written on a subject that anybody can obtain from Google search engine for free. The book is expensive and completely obsolete.