THREE JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE

THREE JAPANESE WOOD NETSUKE

MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

The first carved as the Chinese General Kan'u clutching his beard whilst holding his guandao halberd behind his back, signed Shuko / Kanemitsu; the second depicting a karako trying to lift a large sack, signed Bokusai; the last netsuke carved as Shoki the demon queller attempting to close the lid on a barrel containing an oni, their eyes inlaid in horn, unsigned; 6.3cm max. (3)

Provenance: from the collection of a lady of title, and thence by descent. See Japanese Works of Art, 1st July 2020, for the first part of this private collection of netsuke sold in these rooms.

Cf. F Meinertzhagen, The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archives of the British Museum, Part B, p.772, where a netsuke of Kan'u by Shuko is illustrated, possibly this very piece. Also, see Part A, p. 15, where a netsuke of a boy with a large sack by Bokusai is mentioned.