A FINE NAGOYA SCHOOL WOOD NETSUKE OF A WASP INSIDE A ROTTEN PEARUnsigned Japan, Nagoya, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Finely carved as a decaying and half-eaten pear, the skin rotting off in sections to the reverse, a wasp with eyes inlaid in dark horn picking the fruit’s flesh inside a large hole in the front. The surface of the pear is smoothly polished, while its curved stem is roughly textured. The back with asymmetrical himotoshi with raised rims.HEIGHT 5.2 cmCondition: The stem repaired. Otherwise good condition with minor wear, few tiny nicks around the himotoshi.Literature comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke of a wasp inside a rotten cucumber signed Harushinsai, the cucumber with a similarly smooth surface to the pear on the present netsuke, illustrated in Hurtig, Bernard (1973) Masterpieces of Netsuke Art: One Thousand Favorites of Leading Collectors, p. 172, no. 703.Auction comparison: Compare a related wood netsuke of a wasp inside a decaying pear by Gekko at Galerie Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 22 April 2022, Vienna, lot 129 (sold for 8,848 EUR).