λ A Japanese ivory netsuke of a broken wasps' nest Meiji 1868-1912

λ A Japanese ivory netsuke of a broken wasps' nest Meiji 1868-1912, the insects crawling over the honeycomb and attending to the grubs, six of them articulated and protruding from their cells, the eyes of the adults inlaid with horn, signed Tadakazu/Chuichi, 5.4cm.

Provenance: from the collection of George Henderson (1854-1934), and thence by descent.

Cf. F Meinertzhagen, The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archives of the British Museum, Part A, pp.32-33, where wasps' nests are listed as one of the subjects carved by Tadakazu.