HOSHUNSAI MASAYUKI: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A HATCHING TENGU By Hoshunsai Masayuki, signed Masayuki with kakihan Japan, Tokyo, second half of 19th century A fine, compact model depicting a hatching tengu, also known as ‘tengu no tomago’. A popular model by the artist better known for his fine stag antler carvings (nos. 186-189). The tengu, wearing a tokin cap, lifts itself from the edge of the cracked eggshell with a yearning expression, his eyes formed by two concentric rings. A fine detail to the back is a stem of fan-shaped mushroom and a finely carved crumpled leaf. The underside with asymmetrical himotoshi, one of them ringed in ivory, and the signature MASAYUKI 正之 with kakihan. LENGTH 3.2 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: British collection. Literature comparison: Compare with an ivory variant in Sydney L. Moss Ltd. (2016) Kokusai the Genius: and Stag-antler Carving in Japan, Part 3, p. 84f., no. 380.