Project Description
Wood Netsuke of an Octopus by Ittan
Well ensconced in a broken takatsubo (trap), with one tentacle reaching down and grasping an abalone stuck to the side of the jar. 6 tiny limpets are inlays of bone
Signed Ittan with kaō. Nagoya. Circa 1850
Height: 3.5 cm
Provenance:
WL Behrens
H Joly
Literature:
‘Meinertzhagen Card Index’, p. 251, illustrated with a line drawing, with comment “The peculiar pottery texture, and the mark of the hand-moulding, together with the specially twisted finish of the base of the jar, are very cleverly represented in this piece, & mark its maker as a true artist”
MR5300
