HAKUSAI: A RARE COROZO NUT AND STAG ANTLER NETSUKE OF A KAPPA HEADBy Hoshino Hakusai, signed Haku はクJapan, Asakusa, Tokyo, second half of 19th centuryExquisitely carved, the head surmounted by a natural deer coronet with horsehair tufts, the round eyes double-inlaid in translucent and dark horn, the head itself carved from corozo nut, the finely textured skin of the nut still visible to the cheeks, chin, and back, the face well detailed with neatly incised wrinkles and grimacing mouth slightly agape revealing teeth, the back with two asymmetrical himotoshi beside the signature HAKU executed in a mixture of hiragana and katakana characters within an oval reserve.Corozo nut is rarely used in netsuke art as it is notoriously difficult to carve. The artist here exhibits tremendous skill, the surface of the nut brilliantly utilized to emulate antler.HEIGHT 4.3 cmCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Provenance: Ex-collection Dr. Walter Heihs. Sotheby’s, 17 June 1998, London, lot 752 (described as a tengu mask).Auction comparison: Compare a related Asakusa school stag antler netsuke of a kappa head by Gyokusai, also previously in the collection of Dr. Walter Heihs, sold at Sotheby’s, 17 June 1998, lot 732, and later at Galerie Zacke, 29 October 2021, Vienna, lot 257 (sold for 6,320 EUR).