Early 19th century boxwood netsuke of Shoki (demon queller) with a drawn sword in one hand, and holding a panicking oni with the other. Very strong early carving, especially of Shoki’s fierce and oni’s frightened facial expressions. Wonderful mellow patina and beautiful wear to the surface. Height 1 5/8 inches.

Very unusual pair of late 19th century 2-colored chosen matsu (Korean pine wood) okimono of a rooster and a hen with eggs in original tomobako (wooden box made for the items and signed by the carver). Superbly carved in ittobori (one cut) style characteristic of Hida school of netsuke carvers with clever use of wood structure, texture and color (see lighter colored comb of the rooster and the eggs in front of the hen) as elements of design. Excellently conveyed characters of the creatures, eyes...

18th century netsuke of Shoki the Demon Queller standing on rockery as he draws his sword to threatening a terrified oni (little mischievous demon) that he grabs by its back. Excellent strong early carving with great detailing - see bamboo grass on rockery, Shoki’s muscular arms, elaborate robe with fine textile patterns, wonderful faces. Old age lines, black ink highlights to their eyes, very beautiful wear and patina consistent with age. Height 2 1/8 inches.

19th century Japanese tobakoire (tobacco box, basically an inro with just one compartment) with ojime and netsuke. The box is carved out of soft wood, the front is inlaid with metal fitting depicting two swimming fish patinated in different colors, the back with a single worn character inside a circle, possibly reading SHO (translated as small). Staghorn ojime in a shape of a crouching bird, and a netsuke of a man reading a book inside a huge clam half-shell, blue silk cord holding everything to...

19th century walrus tusk okimono of Shoki the Demon Queller with a sword behind his back, a setsubun box in his hand and a terrified oni (little mischievous demon) at his feet. Setsubun ceremony is performed during the New Year by throwing beans around the house to exorcise the oni. Very well carved, wonderful faces, delicately incised textile patterns. Texture on the walrus tusk core can be seen on the bottom of the carving. Old age lines, black and red ink highlights, very beautiful wear and p...

19th century wooden netsuke of Shoki (Demon Queller) seated on a table with one foot dangling and a sword on a table behind his back, while a terrified oni (little mischievous demon) is hiding under the table looking for a way to escape. Wonderful quality carving - see their great faces, hair and clothing. Nice wear consistent with age, fantastic warm patina. Cursively signed TOKUSAI on the bottom - the artist is listed on p. 1107 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by Geo...

Late 18th - early 19th century staghorn netsuke of Shoki (Demon Queller) with a sword in one hand, the other one raised to hold his head with a terrified oni crouching on top of it, a sword scabbard on his back. Very strong early carving, wonderful intensely staring expression as he looks up towards his hat. Beautiful mellow patina, large deep himotoshi typical for the period, usual staghorn porous areas in the material. His feet are and old and well done replacement, well balance, stands on its...

19th century netsuke of an oni crouching on a huge lotus leaf, with namazu (catfish) hiding under the leaf. Unusual subject, excellent quality carving, old age lines, beautiful patina and wear. Signed SHOKYUSAI on the bottom - for information on the artist see p. 968 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick. Wonderful netsuke. Length 1 5/8 inches.

Very unusual tall boxwood netsuke of a distressed female ama (abalone shell diver) belonging to the Tenaga (long arms) race trying to disentangle herself from the embrace of an amorous octopus. Wonderful inventive take on two standard subjects of Tenaga/Ashinaga and ama/octopus. Superbly carved to the last detail - see her fingernails, portrait quality face, structure and texture of the skin and suction cups of the mollusk, whose eyes are double inlaid. Beautiful even grained material, excellent...

Early 19th century netsuke of an oni (little mischievous demon) standing next to an enormous cloth treasure bag and attempting to move it. Excellently carved, great facial expression of utter frustration, wonderful detailing of the bag surface patterns, rich warm patina and wear consistent with age. Netsuke of typical early triangular section, deep himotoshi located in accordance with the habit of the time. Signed NOBUYUKI in elongated reserve on the side of the bag - it is possibly the artist m...

19th century boxwood netsuke of standing Shoki the Demon Queller wearing a long robe, his hands folded within wide sleeves, his face in a severe concentration. Superb severe face, wonderful flow to the lines of his robe done in ittobori (one cut) style, Made in saishiki technique - the wood is covered with gesso, which in turn is painted in bright colors, some of them in low relief layers. The piece is not signed, but is definitely carved by Nagamachi Shuzan with both material (boxwood versus li...

Late Meiji (1910s) marine material netsuke of a standing oni wearing tiger skin pants and scratching its head in puzzlement as it looks at an Okame mask in his hand. Somewhat unusual subject, excellent face with open mouth displaying large fangs, horn inlaid eyes. Pleasant finish, nice patina. Signed MEIZAN on the back - the artist is listed on p. 754 of NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick. Height 2 inches.

1930s Japanese bronze tea ceremony hibashi (chopsticks for handling charcoal in hibachi brazier) in original signed box. Finely made of bronze with high copper contents, elegant and practical shape with thinner and thicker areas for convenience of holding, embossed areas at the working end for better handling of charcoals. These hibashi are for use in the summer time (winter ones have top half covered in wood). Superb patina, beautiful wear, pleasantly heavy. Each chopstick is marked HYAKUO MUNE...

19th century wooden netsuke of an oni stretching its arms and legs - the subject is a humorous take on a standard one of Daruma doing the same sort of stretching after 9 years of meditation. Very nicely carved, good detailing (see its bracelets and anklets), its jacket is lacquered red, eyes are inlaid with black horn. Some dust accumulation on the surface, wonderful patina, himotoshi is formed by its legs. Length 1 7/8 inches.

19th century boxwood netsuke carved as an oni wearing a loincloth and standing in ridiculously uncomfortable position as it uses a kanna (carpenter’s plane) to smooth an enormous Buddhist scepter. Very unusual, probably unique take on Oni no Nembutsu subject - a demon who saw the light of Buddhist teachings and became pious. Fantastic carving of his face with inlaid eyes and expression of fierce joy, of straining muscles of his arms and visible anatomy of his back. Wonderful deep brown patina ...

19th century netsuke of Edo omiyage (gifts from Tokyo) including a straw bundle with clam shells, a pouch inscribed Kaminari Okoshi and containing sweetened puffed rice cookies from Asakusa, a necklace of so-called donguri (acorn) sweets, a toy whistle, a small shallow box, the back of the netsuke with a round box inscribed Omori Karashizuke Yamamoto (mustard marinated pickles from Yamamoto of Omori). Extremely well carved with minute details - see the delicate texture of a thin bamboo branch wi...

Late 19th century netsuke depicting a rakan - one of the original Buddha disciples recognizable by his long earlobes - seated in a large bowl and being washed by an oni with a cloth. Wonderful humorous Buddhist subject, excellent carving of happy faces of both characters, well captured postures, beautifully incised swirling water on the bottom of the bowl. Wonderful patina, dust accumulation in crevices, in perfect condition. Signed MITSUTOSHI on the bottom - the artist is listed in NETSUKE by N...