A wood netsuke of a snail


By Masayoshi, Nagoya, Edo period (1615-1868), 19th centuryOf compact form, the body twisted back over the shell and the optic tentacles extended, part of the fleshy body forming the himotoshi; signed in a rectangular reserve Masatoshi. 4.5cm (1¾in).
|ProvenanceKiss collection, no.435.Ivan LePage collection, no.527, purchased at Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 1923.PublishedDescribed but not illustrated in Frederick Meinertzhagen, MCI: The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archive of the British Museum, edited by George Lazarnick, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, 1986, p.486.