Another netsuke which depicts the mythical powers of the kitsune (fox). In Japanese folklore there was a nobleman named Abe no Yasuna, who battled a hunter of foxes, and set free a white fox. He sustained several wounds in the battle, however a beautiful woman named Kuzunoha came along and nursed him back to health. The woman is actually the fox he saved, taking on human form. They fall in love and get married, and have a child named Abe no Seimei. This finely carved netsuke depicts the fox mother Kuzunoha caressing the child Abe no Seimei wrapped in a cloth and holding a paintbrush, made from bone or ivory, in her mouth. Natural himotoshi between the bushy tail and left paw.

Category:

Netsuke

Subcategory:

-

Subject:

Mythological

Material:

Wood

Age/Country:

19th Century

Artist:

-

Provenance/Owner:

Galerie Zacke

Signed:

unsigned

Type:

Katabori

Height:

38mm mm

Width:

mm

Depth:

mm

ID number: