Issai wood netsuke
early 19th century
scratching tiger
length 1 7/8 in., 4.9 cm
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a exaggerated study of a tiger scratching his ear with his back leg while contorting himself into a position which folds half of his body beneath him, with dramatic bulding eyes and brow (perhaps in response to the efforts he has gone to in order to satisfy his itch), the musculature very boldly rendered; signed Issai
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Provenance:
Ex Betty Jahss Collection
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Published:
Expressions of Style: Netsuke as Art, Scholten Japanese Art, New York, August 2001, no. 124
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$14,500
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