SIGNED RANTEI, EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Rantei came from Izumo but lived in Kyoto and is noted for his carvings in ivory, though he occasionally used wood, and as in this instance, the details were intricately carved.

For the artist see George Lazarnick, Netsuke and Inro Artists and How to Read Their Signatures (Honolulu, 1982), p.864