19TH CENTURY

Details

An ivory netsuke
19th Century
Carved as a weasel, iatchi, emerging from a bamboo stalk holding a dead rat in its mouth, signed Masayuki
4.2 cm. long

Special notice

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Lot Essay

It is said, that a mythological variety of the weasel (kamaitachi) has very sharp claws like tiny scythes and romantic scratches are often dismissed with the bland excuse that they were made by a weasel.
For a similar subject see F.H. Brockhaus, Netsuke, Leipzig, p.434; and R. Bushell, The Wonderful World of Netsuke, Tokyo, 1964, pl.66.

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