Inro with Hawk on its Perch and Netsuke with Gama Sennin and a Toad

Description This carved ivory netsuke depicts a standing "immortal" hermit, Gama Sennin, with his gourd, toad and staff on a platform. The standard (oblong) gold lacquer four compartment inro has a slightly rounded body. One of the compartments contains red seal-paste. The design on each side of the inro is of a hawk on a perch framed in a panel. The design is in high relief.

Exhibitions

• Centennial Exhibition Philadelphia. Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, Philadelphia. 1876.
• JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876-1970. Herbert F. Johnson, Ithaca; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento. 2016-2017.

Provenance Wakai Kanesaburo, Centennial Exhibition Philadelphia, 1876; William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1876, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Seal] In red on bottom of lower case: Ei; [Signature] In gold on bottom of lower case: Kajikawa saku

Credit Acquired by William T. Walters, 1876