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• Lot n° 230 KAKUSEN: A RARE KUROGAKI (BLACK PERSIMMON) WOOD NETSUKE OF A RECUMBENT OX By Kakusen, signed Shunan Fushino-gawa (Sawara-gawa) nishi Kakusen 周南 椹川 西 鶴仙 Japan, Iwami province, late 18 th to early 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Finely carved as a recumbent ox slightly extending its tongue and looking up towards the rope halter which is fastened to its nose ring and twists along its back. The flattened underside shows the well-carved feet tucked under the body and the large, asymmetrical himotoshi, as well as the neatly incised signature and inscription: Shunan Fushino-gawa nishi KAKUSEN [made by Kakusen, resident at the west of the Fushino River (Sawara River), in the Shunan region]. The two-toned wood bearing some lighter patches to the back and underside. LENGTH 5.8 cm Condition: The right horn reattached. Otherwise very good condition with minor wear and light traces of use. Provenance: From the collection of Mike Thaler, former president of the Oregon Netsuke Society Chapter. The artist is a rare carver from the Iwami province (Fuld’s Netsuke and Ojime Index records only one netsuke by this artist). George Lazarnick (LNIA p. 572) notes he was a follower of Seiyodo Tomiharu and illustrates a typical Iwami netsuke in the form of a boar tusk decorated with a spider, signed “Sawara no sho Kakusen kore Kizamu”. Auction comparison: Compare a related kurogaki wood netsuke of a recumbent ox, similarly carved, by Seiyodo Tomiharu, at Bonhams, The Robert S. Huthart Collection of Iwami Netsuke Part II, 6 November 2019, London, lot 26 ( sold for GBP 5,687).