Unsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
A pale wood netsuke in the form of an antique Chinese lock carved in high relief on one side with the character ‘Shou’ for long life, and the character for ‘double happiness’ on the other. Images of antique coins and flowers are arranged in reserves to the side of the characters. Natural himotoshi.
LENGTH 4.7 cm
Condition: Very good condition, one miniscule crack near one of the Chinese characters. Provenance: The Gabor Wilhelm Collection.
To our knowledge, this is the only netsuke depicting an antique Chinese lock.