18th century

The Dutchman standing proud and tall, holding a rifle in one hand, a finely carved, strange fox-like animal with hooves and a long tail slung over his shoulder and tied to the barrel of the gun with a rope, the remaining twist of the rope in his right hand. He wears a typical feathered hat and long curly lozenge wig. The seam of his long coat is finely stippled and engraved with crashing waves. Large, asymmetrical himotoshi through the back.

H. 10.1 cm

Provenance:
Private collection, the Netherlands

Literature comparison:
The carver is familiar from the very distinctive sharp and dramatically undercut chin, as well as the style of decoration to the coat. His tall and impressive figures of Dutchman are usually depicted holding a gun and with some type of game slung over the shoulder. catalogue of the H.G. Beasley collection, Sotheby’s, 14th March 1984, London, lot 87, illustrated in colour on p. 43. Another is also illustrated Eskenazi Ltd. (1993) Japanese Netsuke from the Carré Collection, no. 1, and illustrated on the cover of the catalogue.

Compare:
For a Dutchman of similar prowess see: Bonhams, The Harriet Szechenyi Sale of Japanese Art, 8 November 2011, London, lot 97