λ THREE JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE

λ THREE JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE
MEIJI ERA, 19TH CENTURY

The first depicting Kanshin crawling between the legs of a bully, with two baskets of fish behind them, one forming the himotoshi, 4.2cm; another carved as a seated rakan arranging his topknot whilst looking in a mirror, with inlaid rings around the himotoshi, 3.1cm; the third depicting a cooper, 3.3cm. (3)

Provenance: formerly in the Mark and Elizabeth Harding Collection, South Africa.

Kanshin was originally a Chinese prince called Han Xin (231-196 BC) who famously consented to the humiliation of crawling between the legs of a fisherman rather than fight with a man of lowly rank.

Ivory Act 2018 exemption certificate, ref. FNQ7S59B.