A VERY RARE INLAID WOOD NETSUKE OF A TENNINUnsigned, wood netsuke with inlays of mother of pearl, coral and malachiteJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Neil Davey describes this tennin as a 'choice figure', which perhaps may even be an understatement, as not only is the subject quite rare, this variant in wood and with inlays is something that may only exist once. The tennin is carved from an attractive piece of wood with a good color and fine grain. She is depicted, as usual, holding a large lotus bud and flying with heavenly garlands surrounding her. The entire carving is inlaid with mother of pearl, some of them with incised cloud patterns, coral and malachite. Her hair is neatly arranged into a top bun held together by a tiara, the central jewel inlaid in coral. Small himotoshi on the underside.HEIGHT 2.9 CM, LENGTH 4.3 CMCondition: Good condition, with a fine and worn patina and few expected age cracksProvenance: British private collection, stored in a bank vault for 30 years and now offered for the first time, coming with two valuations from Neil K. Davey from 1974 & 1984, collection no. 26, additionally an old collection label 'F 99'