ITTAN: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A COILED RATBy Ittan, signed Ittan 一旦 with kakihan Japan, Nagoya, c. 1840, Edo period (1615-1868)Published: Lazarnick, George (1981) Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures, vol. 1, p. 528.Barry Davies Oriental Art (1998) The Robert S. Huthart Collection of Non-Iwami Netsuke, no. 149.Of ideal compact form, finely carved to depict a rat coiled into a ball, with one front paw holding the thick base of its sinuous tail, the hind paws grabbing its nose and left ear. The fur is neatly incised and the tail is well-detailed. The large eyes are inlaid with black wood. The underside with asymmetrical himotoshi and the signature ITTAN with a kakihan.HEIGHT 2.9 cmCondition: Good condition with minor wear, a small chip to one paw.Provenance: Christie’s, 28 May 1980, London, lot 133. Ex-collection Robert S. Huthart, acquired from the above. Barry Davies Oriental Art, London, 1998. European private collection, acquired from the above. Sydney L. Moss, London, 2006. French private collection, acquired from the above.This is very much the composition one expects of Masanao of Yamada and his followers, leaving the question of where it originated.Auction comparison: Compare a closely related wood netsuke of a coiled rat by Ittan at Sotheby’s, Netsuke from the Collection of Raymond and Frances Bushell, 21 March 2000, New York, lot 57. Compare also a similar wood netsuke of a coiled rat by Masanao of Yamada, 3.7 cm high, at Galerie Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 4 November 2022, Vienna, lot 44 (sold for 7,150 EUR).