A LARGE JAPANESE NETSUKE OF AN ONI NEMBUTSU

£2,000 - £3,000 £21,420

A LARGE JAPANESE NETSUKE OF AN ONI NEMBUTSU
EDO PERIOD, 18TH/19TH CENTURY

Boldly carved with the eyes inlaid in horn; the ferocious-looking demon is depicted standing with a wide toothy grin, wearing monk's robes opening to reveal his torso; holding prayer beads in one hand and a mallet in the other, a gong tied around his waist, 10.4cm.

Provenance: from the Mark and Elizabeth Harding Collection, South Africa. Previously in the W L Behrens Collection, sold at Glendining & Co, London, 1913. Illustrated in the sale catalogue, no.46.

Published: H L Joly, Legend in Japanese Art, pp.262-64 where the netsuke is illustrated as part of the entry on oni.