Ɏ AN IVORY NETSUKE OF IKKAKU SENNIN CARRYING THE LADY OF BENARESJapan, Kyoto, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Well carved with the one-horned rishi standing and carrying the lady of Benares (sometimes called Sendabunin) on his back, holding one of her hands in his raised right hand and supporting her back with the other, wearing a robe with neatly incised foliate scroll and opening at the chest, revealing his emaciated ribcage, as well as a leafy skirt and apron, her robe also incised with cloud designs, both with happy expressions, some details heightened with sumi, the back with large himotoshi.HEIGHT 6.8 cmCondition: Overall good condition with minor wear, minimal age cracks, the toes with old repairs.Provenance: Formerly in a French private collection. Old inventory label to reverse, ‘180’.The subject is derived from the Noh play Ikkaku Sennin, written by Komparu Zembo Motoyasu (1453-1532). Ikkaku Sennin, the one-horned rishi, once slipped on a hill near Benares and in his anger captured the dragon kings and kept them from letting rain fall from the sky. He is then seduced by a beautiful lady from Benares and eventually loses all his power, thus freeing the dragon kings and ending a terrible drought.Literature comparison: Compare a related netsuke depicting the same subject, dated to the late 18th century, formerly in the collection of Raymond Bushell and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.91.250.115. Compare a related netsuke depicting the same subject, dated 18th century, illustrated in Schwarz, Karl M. (1992) Netsuke Subjects, p. 43, no. 64.Auction comparison: Compare a related netsuke depicting the same subject, 8.3 cm high, also dated late 18th to early 19th century, at Bonhams, The Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection of Fine Netsuke Part II, 10 May 2017, London, lot 8 (sold for 6,875 GBP).Trade Certificate:The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 22-B-0089).This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person. Notes RefButton1