A JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE 19TH CENTURY Depicting a seated court gardener

A JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE

19TH CENTURY

Depicting a seated court gardener, his hat hanging over his back, the himotoshi lined with green stained ivory and signed Shumin (for Hara Shumin II) to the reverse, 3.9cm.

Cf. F Meinertzhagen, The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archives of the British Museum, Part B, p.775, where a netsuke of a gardener by Shumin is illustrated, possibly this very piece.