Project Description
Wood Netsuke of Tekkai Sennin, Attributed to Soshin
Hunched over his staff which he clutches with both hands. A water gourd is attached to his belt
Having compared closely with two variants which have passed through my hands, I think it plausible that this is by Soshin, though if so, I would judge an early example before he developed the characteristic hanging eyebrows and inlaid eyes. Compare with one in the Sydney L. Moss catalogue, More Things in Heaven and Earth, London 2006, no 37. A presumably much later variant, with open mouth and ivory inlaid teeth, was published in an article on Soshin by Jay Hopkins in the International Netsuke Society Journal, Vol. 30 No. 2 Summer 2010, front cover and page 15. In this last there is a close up of the face, showing the aforementioned eyebrows
Unsigned. Circa 1800
Height 5.5cm
MR4490