SLUMBERING CAT

Details
SLUMBERING CAT
Ivory, unsigned
19th Century
1 5/8 in. (4 cm.) long, age cracks
Provenance
Harris 'Jishin' Martin

Mr. Bushell recalls that Mr. Martin was known as 'Jishin', meaning 'earthquake', as he was born during the terrible Yokohama earthquake of 1923, the youngest child of missionary parents who adored and collected netsuke. The collection was divided into four parts, one for each child. Mr. Martin promised the slumbering cat to Mr. Bushell if he ever chose to sell it, and as Mr. Bushell says, "he remembered!"