A wood netsuke of a horse


By Kokei, Kuwana, Ise Province, 19th centurySigned Kokei. 4.5cm (1¾in) wide.
|木彫根付　馬　銘「虎渓」　19世紀Provenance: Purchased at Hotel Drouot, Paris, 1965.Published: Katchen, N7, vol.2, p.91, no.K140.Lying with its head raised, its legs folded beneath for compactness, one forming the himotoshi, and its tail sweeping forward over the left flank, the slightly worn wood with a fine patina.For similar examples, see Bushell, CN, p.66, no.81, the exhibition catalogue, Contrasting Styles, London, 1980, p.33, no.75, and Harris, HGBM, p.58, no.225.