Beschreibung:

By Hokyudo Itsumin, signed Itsumin 逸民 Japan, Nagoya, c. 1830, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Rutherston & Bandini (2011) Japanese Netsuke, Inro and Works of Art, no. 31. Finely carved as a recumbent boar with three legs folded beneath and the ears held back flat against the head, the eyes double-inlaid with pale and dark horn, the hairwork neatly incised, the short tail curved to one side, the prominent snout flanked by two tusks, ‘natural’ himotoshi between the left front and hind leg, the underside with the signature ITSUMIN within an oval reserve. LENGTH 4.7 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: Ex-collection Dr. Llewellyn Thomas Evans, no. 36. Then in a Belgian private collection. Meinertzhagen observes that it is likely that Itsumin spent his early years as a carver in Nagoya, possibly as a pupil of Ittan. The present work and its affinity to Nagoya school netsuke certainly seems to support this theory. Meinertzhagen also notes that his earlier work was signed Itsumin, while later pieces were more often signed in full, Hokyudo Itsumin. (MCI, 1986, Part A, p. 245) Auction comparison: Compare to a very similar wood netsuke of a boar by Ikkan sold at Bonhams, The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke Part II, 10 May 2017, London, lot 131 (sold for 10,000 GBP).