Circa 1800

The figure looks proud of his newly fetched object, hopping away swiftly from anyone suspecting, with long curly hair and a Chinese-style coat.

H. 5.6 cm

Provenance:
Private collection, United Kingdom
With us, pre-2021

A tama in Japanese can mean bullet, orb or sphere, jewel or spirit. It gives a good guess at what the carver meant with this orb like form in the hands of this Dutchman or foreigner.