Netsuke: The Japanese Art of Miniature Carving;

Lavishly printed in full color, this exhibition catalogue features over 300 spectacular examples of netsuke carvers' art. Chapters elucidate the historical development and extraordinary breadth of netsuke production with examples from as early as the 17th century to contemporary works by living artists. Matthew Welch, Associate Curator of Asian Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and Sharen Chappell, former president of the International Netsuke Society, discuss iconography, technique and artistic style of each work. All netsuke were selected from the private collections of the International Netsuke Society members, and many have never been published or publicly exhibited.