Description A STAG ANTLER KISERUZUTSU OF ASHINAGA, MEIJIJapan, Meiji period (1868-1912)Of senryuzutsu type, carved as the long-legged Ashinaga, with his short arms joined to encircle the pipe. His face expressively carved with inlaid eyes. The cord attachment runs through a little carved loop to his side, just above the tobacco pouch which is attached to his obi. With an artist signature at the back near the base within a raised reserve.LENGTH 21.8 cmCondition: Very good condition with minimal wear, and with natural imperfections to the material.Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world's leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.