A WOOD NETSUKE OF A TIGERBy Naito Toyomasa (1773-1856), Tanba Province, early/mid-19th centuryThe sabre-toothed tiger seated, turning left to look over its shoulder, its long tailed curled around and beneath its body, the tiger's stripes finely detailed, its eyes inlaid, signed with incised charactersToyomasa within a rectangular rounded reserve; with a plain wood storage box.3.2cm x 4.1cm (1¼in x 1 5/8in). (2).Provenance: Netsuke of tigers by Naito Toyomasa are relatively rare in the market. Two examples have been sold in these Rooms, one from the Julius and Arlette Katchen Collection, 6 November 2018, lot 53, and a second from a private collection, 6 November 2012, lot 104. For similar examples by the artist, see Neil K. Davey,Netsuke: Aprehensive Study Based on the M. T. Hindson Collection, London, 1974, p.241, no.747; George Lazarnick,Netsuke and Inro Artists and How to Read Their Signatures, Honolulu, privately printed, 1982, p.1192; and Joe Earle,Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture, Boston, MFA Publications, 2001, p.297, no.258.