HAKUMIN: A SUPERB STAG ANTLER KISERUZUTSU WITH A BAKUBy Isshosai Hakumin, sealed Hakumin 方印Japan, Tokyo, Asakusa District, second half of 19th centuryOf senryu-zutsu type, finely carved in openwork with a baku, its scrolling mane and tail neatly incised and darkly stained for effect, the reverse with a trailing leafy vine and the mythical creature’s furcating tail, the entire pipe case superbly detailed with worm-eaten sections here and there. The cord attachment ‘naturally’ through under the baku’s body. The back carved with a gourd-shaped seal HAKUMIN. LENGTH 19.7 cmCondition: Very good condition, minor wear, natural imperfections. Provenance: From the collection of Gaston Lazard (1878-1956) and his wife Jane Levy (1886-1985) and thence by descent within the same family.Literature comparison: Compare a closely related pipe case depicting a bat with baku-snouted water dragon head, with seal Haku and attributed as “probably Isshosai Hakumin”, illustrated in Sydney Moss Ltd. (2016) Kokusai The Genius: and Stag-antler Carving in Japan, Part 3, p. 174-175, no. 441.