Japan, Tokyo, Asakusa, second half of 19th centuryA stag-antler netsuke of a sparrow in flight, conceived as an abstract realization of the poetic concept of a bird flying through clouds among bamboo. The bamboo is manifested in the bird’s back feathers, engraved as bamboo leaves. The wings and tail are indicated by the lobed form. The eyes are inlaid in dark horn. The underside carved in relief with fan-shaped lotus leaves and the large, irregular himotoshi surrounding the central cord hole.DIAMETER 4.3 cmCondition: Very good condition with old wear and few minor nicks to edges.Provenance: European collection.According to Paul Moss, the bamboo-feathers are “indicative of the work of Rensai, and of nobody else” (Sydney L. Moss Ltd. (2016) Kokusai the Genius: and Stag-antler Carving in Japan, p. 68).Literature comparison: Three closely related netsuke attributed to Rensai are illustrated in Sydney L. Moss Ltd. (2016) Kokusai the Genius: and Stag-antler Carving in Japan, vol. III, p. 68-71, nos. 369-371. Compare also another netsuke by Rensai from this innovative series, formerly in the collection of Raymond Bushell and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.87.263.18.