An ebony netsuke of a kirinBy Masatoyo, Tomita, Iwami Province, late 18th centuryThe smooth-skinned kirin in a contorted pose, its neck stretched and its chin resting on its four feet, the eyes double-inlaid, a loose ball in its mouth, signed with partially-erased ukibori characters Tomita no ju Masatoyo ... (... Masatoyo, resident in Tomita) and scratched beneath the jaw Unkei. 4.8cm (1 7/8in).注脚黒檀彫根付　麒麟　銘 「囗囗富田住昌豊」「雲慶」　18世紀後期Provenance:W. L. Behrens Collection, no.1442.George Lazarnick Collection, no.144.Published:Joly, WLB, p.55 (unillustrated).Lazarnick, NIA, pp.88 and 1204.NKSJ, vol.4, no.3, Fall 1984, p.25, fig.1.Meinertzhagen, MCI, vol.1, p.480 (unillustrated).Eskenazi Ltd., Japanese Netsuke from the Lazarnick Collection, London, 1990, p.74, no.54.Rokusho 20, p.73, no.106.Earle, Huthart, p.320, no.290.Burditt, ICLS, p.43, fig.19.Exhibited:The Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, 1985.