Description ENSAI: A VERY RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF TSURU SENNINBy Ensai, signed Ensai 宴齋Japan, 19th centuryFinely carved as the 'crane sennin' standing and holding a basket in one hand and crane's feet in the other hand, dressed in a long flowing robe with a leafy apron and vest. Small himotoshi through the back, signed ENSAI.HEIGHT 4.9 cmCondition: Very good condition, minor wear.Provenance: European collection.Works by this artist are extremely rare, only three other figural examples appear to be recorded: one of Rokusuke and Kappa, sold at Sotheby's, 10 June 1977, lot 73. The second one depicts Tamamo no Mae, formerly in the W.L. Behrens Collection, no.477, illustrated in George Lazarnick, Netsuke and Inro Artists and How to Read Their Signatures, p.365.Auction comparison:The third known netsuke by this rare artist was sold at Sotheby's, The Katchen Collection of Netsuke Part II, 13 July 2006, London, lot 319 (sold for 4,800 GBP).