SHIGEYOSHI: A FINE EBONY WOOD NETSUKE OF A TORTOISE
By Shigeyoshi, signed Shigeyoshi
Japan, Iwami province, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Published: Earle, Huthart, p.362, no.339.

Finely carved as a tortoise almost completely retracted within its carapace, creating a perfectly rounded and ideal netsuke shape. The individual sections of the shell are carved in a very accomplished manner, with the underside showing the beautifully wrinkled and scaly skin of its clawed limbs, neck and tail. The himotoshi is formed by a section of the shell removable on the top and a central himotoshi on the underside, where also the signature SHIGEYOSHI 重吉 is shown.

LENGTH 4.2 cm

Condition: Superb condition.
Provenance: The Robert S. Huthart Collection.

Literature comparison: For a similar example see F. Meinertzhagen, MCI, Part B, page 734.