19th century boxwood netsuke of a recumbent water buffalo, its hooves bent beneath its body. Perfectly captured somewhat puzzled expression, wonderful sense of volume. Superbly carved to the last detail - see its face and finely incised coat. Eyes are inlaid with black horn, himotoshi (cord opening) formed by the natural opening of its tail. Signed MASANAO (for Masanao of Ise) on the bottom - for the discussion of the group of Ise carvers signing their work with this name see pp. 80-81 of COLLEC...

Late Meiji (1910s) small ichii (yew wood) netsuke of a resting buffalo, its back covered with a blanket. Netsuke is skillfully carved by a Hida school carver in characteristic ittobori (one cut) style with clever use of wood texture to represent the creature’s fur and add to charm of the piece. For similar examples see Bushell’s NETSUKE FAMILIAR AND UNFAMILIAR, p. 128. Nicely captured posture, wonderful mellow patina. Length 1 3/4 inches.

Early 19th century netsuke of a buffalo on a base, its head turned back. Unusual and wonderful stylization of the creature - see its upturned snout and raised ears and horns. Beautifully carved, excellent staining, superb wear and patina, old age lines. Height 1 5/16 inches

19th century marine material netsuke of a reclining buffalo with its head turned back while licking its coat with its tongue. Finely carved, buffalo’s hooves bent beneath its body, it wears a halter with a length of rope lying underneath it. Beautiful wear and superb patina with extraordinary sheen. Comes from the collection of His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester - a tag is attached. Length 1 5/8 inches.

18th century netsuke of a recumbent buffalo with a baby goat by its side, the head of the kid resting on the body of the larger beast. Uncommon subject of pairing of Zodiac animals, finely carved, their hooves bent beneath their bodies, the buffalo wearing a halter with a length of rope lying across its back, its eyes inlaid with dark horn. Beautiful wear consistent with age, yellowing on the bottom where netsuke was touching the silk of kimono and picked up oil from the body of the owner. Diffe...

Early 19th century staghorn netsuke of a recumbent buffalo. Nicely carved, its hooves bent beneath its body, wearing a halter with a length of rope lying across its back, eyes are inlaid with brown horn. Beautiful wear consistent with age, yellowing on the bottom where netsuke was touching the silk of kimono. Usual irregularities in the material, porous part of stag antler on the back of the animal is plugged as is usual in staghorn pieces, and the plug is carved as part of the netsuke. Large an...

Late 19th century boxwood netsuke of a recumbent water buffalo, its head raised and looking to the left, hooves bent beneath its body. Did not photograph well. Perfectly captured posture, wonderful sense of volume. Superbly carved out of beautiful even grained boxwood, excellent patina. Signed MITSUTSUGU on the bottom - the artist is listed on p. 789 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick. Length 1 7/8 inches.

Late Meiji - early Taisho (1910s) buffalo horn ojime (slide bead for tightening the cord going from netsuke to inro) in seed shape with faceted surface. Nice work, pleasant patina, good representative piece for a collection of netsuke/ojime materials.. Height 13/16 inches.

19th century netsuke in of a boy wearing a short jacket and reading a book as he sits on the back of a resting buffalo. The subject seems to be a variation of bokudo - a theme of a perfect peace of mind, and one of the stages of a journey towards Buddhahood. Wonderful carving perfectly capturing the tranquil mood of the scene, beautiful thoughtful face of the boy, excellent detailing - see the woven mat spread on the back of the beast, its tether with rope and dense hairwork. Eyes of the buffalo...

Very unusual 19th century mixed metal and wood netsuke of a boy quietly playing a reed flute while leaning against a side of a resting buffalo, 2 baskets next to him. The subject is ushidoji (also called bokudo) symbolizing the perfect peace of mind, and is considered to be one of the stages on the way to the Buddhahood. Excellent quality metalwork of shakudo (buffalo), solid silver (boy) and copper (baskets), perfectly captured mood of the scene. Fruitwood body, some darkening to the back, very...

19th century glass ojime (slide bead for tightening the cord going from netsuke to inro) in ball shape with black body and sun wheel designs around the middle. Beautiful surface, very pleasant patina. Diameter 5/8 inches.

Unusual 19th century staghorn netsuke depicting Takaramono - a group of objects, each endowed with an emblematic meaning: Kakuregasa (the hat of invisibility), Kakure Mino (lucky rain coat protecting against evil spirits), three Tama (sacred pearls) and an ingot-shaped coin. Wonderful piece in Japanese taste, essentially a wish for luck, health and prosperity. Great quality bold carving, beautifully stained or saturated with some sort of oil that gives the material look and heel of buffalo horn,...

19th century wooden netsuke in manju (rice cake) shape carved on the front in low relief with a woman holding in her mouth an object that looks like a hammer striker for a musical instrument, a cloth wrapped top of a biwa (Japanese lute) in her hand and a scaly body of a dragon on her right. The woman is Benten - the Goddess of learning, speech and music - and one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, and the netsuke can be interpreted as a wish for scholarly achievements. The back is incised with ...

19th century netsuke carved as a group of 12 animals of the Oriental zodiac: dragon, horse, tiger, rat, rooster, dog, monkey, snake, goat, pig, buffalo and rabbit. Clever design, excellent carving to the last detail, deep undercutting, beautiful wear and patina. Eye of the rabbit is inlaid with salmon pink coral, all the rest are inlaid with dark horn. Very beautiful wear, honey colored patina. Signed RANSAI on the bottom - this rare artist working in Asakusa style is listed in NETSUKE by Neil D...

Good size 18th century netsuke of a standing sennin (Chinese sage) in a long robe and a leaf cape, carrying on his shoulder a Chinese boy who plays a short trumpet. The netsuke is probably a joke on the subject of bokudo, which is typically depicted as a boy seated on the back of a buffalo and playing a flute - a theme of a perfect peace of mind, and one of the stages of a journey towards Buddhahood.. Unusual subject, wonderful quality carving of their faces, beautiful flowing lines of the robe...

18th century netsuke in manju (rice cake) shape carved in low relief with Junishi - 12 Zodiac animals: dragon, horse, tiger, rat, rooster, dog, monkey, snake, goat, pig, buffalo and rabbit. Excellent carving with great detailing, beautiful wear and patina turning deep honey color on the back and sides. Nicely fat, 2 halves still fit perfectly after 200 years, old silk cord. Diameter 2 inches, thickness 7/8 inches.

Very unusual small 1910s Tibetan thangka painted on a buffalo horn plaque with mineral pigments and depicting Bhavachakra - a symbolic representation of samsara - the cycle of repeated birth, mundane existence and dying again without the beginning or the end. The pig, rooster and snake in the hub of the wheel represent “the three poisons” - ignorance, attachment and anger. The layer around the hub represents the six realms of samsara: three good realms (gods, demi-gods and humans) and three ...