A small ebony netsuke of a boy


Attributed to Tanaka Minko (1735-1816), Tsu, Ise Province, late 18th/early 19th centurySigned Tadamitsu, hachijusan-o (at the age of 83). 3.2cm (1¼in) high.
|黒檀彫根付　獅子舞面を被る男児　銘「忠満　八十三翁」　18世紀後期/19世紀前期Published: Katchen, N7, vol.1, p.275, no.K682.Seated, wearing a shishimai mask and cloak while beating a small drum held by his feet, his face visible through the open mouth of the mask.Tadamitsu was an art name used by Tanaka Minko of Tsu. A boxwood example of the same subject signed Minko was sold at Sotheby's, London, 19 November 1997, lot 236 (unillustrated).