A TALL JAPANESE SAISHIKI (PAINTED WOOD) NETSUKE OF RYUJIN

A TALL JAPANESE SAISHIKI (PAINTED WOOD) NETSUKE OF RYUJIN
MEIJI ERA, 19TH CENTURY

In the style of Yoshimura Shuzan, depicting the bearded Dragon King standing, holding a sacred jewel and wearing loose robes revealing his protuberant ribs; a dragon clambering upon his back and resting its chin on his head, 9.5cm.

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

The original netsuke model of the Dragon King was first illustrated in the Soken Kisho in 1781.

Cf. Hirokazu Arakawa, The Go collection of Netsuke,Tokyo National Museum, p.9, nos.1&2 for another figure of Ryujin in the Baron Go Seinosuke Collection.