I am pleased to announce that some of my work is now available for sale with Robert Willford Japanese Art. Robert is an antique dealer and buyer of Japanese Netsuke and Laquer art. His new partnership with myself represents his first step into contemporary netsuke and I hope his participation will encourage collectors and a…
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Netsuke auction
I am excited to announce that I have 4 pieces of my work available for sale in the upcoming auction at Lempertz auction house in Cologne, Germany on June 16th 2018. This will be the first time any of my work has been commercially available. The catalouge is not yet available but should be soon…
Snail on chestnut, Work in progress
I have been working on a netsuke in boxwood of a snail on a chestnut which started out promisingly. This was inspired by the many antique chestnut netsuke with a dark rich stain and patina which i wanted to replicate. Carving a chestnut is deceptively difficult. One has an assumption that such an item would…
Chidori Netsuke
Earlier this year I started a small netsuke based on the traditional Japanese Chidori motif. Chidori are a small plover bird and simple designs of them can be seen on modern and antique Japanese goods. I had a small piece of baltic amber I wanted to use for a bird related design and decided to…
Reishi netsuke.
Since returning from my travels in Japan in October 2015 my work on netsuke has not been as prolific I would would have liked. I have yet to produce a new fox priest after the last one escaped and only now do I feel like I am starting to get back into carving after that…
Let me tell you about my new boat…
So. I have been promising a new Belafonte model for some time now since my first attempt 4 or 5 years ago. My love of the movie The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou has not abated during this time and I had always planned on making another Belafonte. I had always thought I would make…
Fox priest pilgrimage
In September of 2015 myself and my fiance visited Japan and traveled to several different locations including Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Takayama, and Kanazawa. My most recent netsuke carving at the time accompanied us on our travels. This was a carving of a fox disguised as a priest which gave me great pleasure to make.…
New Netsuke completed, Usugi moon
It has been a long time in the making but I feel I am at a point where I can call this piece finished. A 37mm by 37mm manjū style netsuke made from polished ebony with mother of pearl, abalone, horn, antler and gold inlay. It represents a dashing hare at night under a clouded…
Christmas Toto-nut
Now I have a walnut. Ho - Ho - Ho Getting into the festive spirit I though it would be nice to share a few pictures of a bauble I carved this year. It started life as a walnut netsuke based on studio Ghibli's classic character Totoro but I abandoned it after I noticed a…
Belafonte. Let me tell you about my boat
For a while I have neglected to take any decent photos of my model of the Belafonte. I thought i would have a go at doing some good pictures using a Sony NEX3 and a photo light box thing I bought recently from ebay. The photos aren't bad but I realise there are few areas I…
ADAM BLAND 