AN INLAID WOOD NETSUKE OF SHOJO DANCING BY ISSHOSAIBy Isshosai, inlaid wood netsukeJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Shojo is drunk from sake as always and dancing with a folding fan in one hand. Her girlish face is inset. Many stories exist about Shojo, due to her name also being that of the orangutan she is also called the ghost of this animal. A characteristic feature, besides her drunkenness, is her exceptionally long hair, which in this work reaches the ground. Himotoshi on the reverse, signed ISSHOSAI.HEIGHT 4.6 CMCondition: Very good conditionProvenance: British private collectionLiterature comparison: Possibly the same netsuke is noted in The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archives of the British Museum Part A, Frederick Meinertzhagen (edited by George Lazarnick), New York, 1986, page 244.