A rare wood netsuke of an oxherd and ox


By Ryuhan, Edo period (1615-1868), late 18th/early 19th centuryThe large ox recumbent, its head lowered to the right and a rope halter passing over its back, the herdsman seated at the side, smoking a pipe and with his broad hat resting beside him, the slightly worn wood bearing a good patina and the eyes inlaid with bone, one with inlaid pupil; signed Ryuhan. 6.4cm (2½in).
|ProvenanceJ. Gordon Dalgliesh collection, by repute.G. G. Davies collection.W. W. Winkworth collection.Carlo Monzino collection.PublishedFrederick Meinertzhagen, MCI: The Meinertzhagen Card Index in the Archives of the British Museum, edited by George Lazarnick, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, 1986, p.670.The MCI entry, with a sketchy drawing, is under the name Ryujo, as Winkworth was evidently unsure of the reading of the signature. A wood netsuke of a foreigner with a monkey by Ryuhan is illustrated, ibid., p.669, with a reference by Winkworth to the present example.