Lot Essay
Fukusuke ("Man of Good Fortune") dolls were household symbols of prosperity and happiness. They were based on Daimonjiya, a prosperous 18th Century Kyoto merchant, who was short in stature, with a disproportionately large head, but was a great benefactor to the poor of the city. The texture of curved marks on the base of the netsuke was probably caused by the wearer knocking out the ash from his pipe over the hibachi.