Japan. Edo period. Probably early 19th ct. Group of five animals: tiger, tortoise, snake, dragon, and Ho-Ho bird, naturalistically and harmoniously composed around a rock. Ebony, boldly carved with very finely engraved details. Signed underneath: Retsuchosai Matsushige koku (carved by.). An unknown artist, our piece illustrated without comment on the carver in MCI, p.498. Neil Davey, Hindson Catalogue p. 297 points out that there are 5 instead of 4 guradians of the four directions because it was once thought that tortoise and snake were the female and male versions of one and the same animal. W.5,8cm. Condition A.
Provenance: -Gunther Collection, no. 52. -F. Meinertzhagen Collection, illustrated with color sketch in his Card Index. -Hindson Collection, no. 904.