The Hare With The Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance

Book Description:

264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the ÃnetsukeÃ, they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imaginedÃÂ

The Ephrussis came from Odessa, and at one time were the largest grain exporters in the world; in the 1870s, Charles Ephrussi was part of a wealthy new generation settling in Paris. CharlesÃs passion was collecting; the netsuke, bought when Japanese objets were all the rage in the salons, were sent as a wedding present to his banker cousin in Vienna.

Later, three children à including a young Ignace à would play with the netsuke as history reverberated around them. The Anschluss and Second World War swept the Ephrussis to the brink of oblivion.

ISBN: 9780099539551
Author(s): Edmund De Waal

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