A wood netsuke of the 'oil thief'. Prior to his capture and identification as a priest, the thief in the tale was allegedly a demon. Our super-fine version captures the tale when the thief was still considered an Oni, in the guise of a priest.
This important distinction, separates this netsuke from the overriding majority of 'oil thief' models. Moreover, it is the finest version we have seen in terms of technical achievement, with even ukibori decorating the top of the straw hat, where the strands are gathered and tied with rope. For demonic effect, the eyes are inlaid in polished gold coloured metal.
This work is the same hand as another 'oil thief' netsuke which is signed 木山. Please see; The Go collection of netsuke. Tokyo National Museum. Numbers 34 & 35. This chomei can be read as Mokuzan (as it is in the above title) or alternatively, Bokuzan or Kiyama. The latter reading is a well known surname, which means wood mountain.
Interestingly, many years ago, I owned a reclining wolf, signed with the same characters as the example in the Go Collection. I read the signature as Mokuzan at that time, however, after selling the piece, the reading was determined to be Bokuzan and the new owner identified a relationship with Otomitsu (Formerly Otoman) and sold the piece as hailing from Hakata.
4.9cm High.
Price in application
