Gechu

Gechū (牙虫; active 18th century) was a Japanese sculptor. His dates of birth and death are not known.

Biography

Little is known about Gechū's life, he is primarily known through his works, in particular netsuke. He was an Osaka School style artist, and is known to have sculpted in ivory. It was originally believed he lived in Osaka though recently it has been suggested that he may have been at home in Satsuma Province on Kyushu.

His most celebrated netsuke, upon which many attributions to Gechū are based, an ivory of a shaggy dog and pup, was sold at the last auction of the M. T. Hindson collection on 23 June 1969. This supreme masterpiece of the art form was the favourite netsuke of the pianist Julius Katchen and he was determined to purchase it for his collection. He died a few months before the sale and his widow, Arlette, is said to have bid for and bought it in his memory. When sold at Bonhams in 2016, the work achieved the second highest price ever for a netsuke at auction.

Of this work, Frederick Meinertzhagen remarks in his Card Index,

Two netsuke attributed to Gechū are kept in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.