made in Japan
This ivory netsuke is of a fox disguised as an old lady with children hiding under her skirts. A netsuke is used to fasten an inro, a lacquered container, which hung from the sash of a man's kimono. They became miniature art forms in their own right.
This netsuke is of the fox, messenger to Inari, the rice god He is disguised as an old woman with children playing under her skirts at the base of the pillar. Inari shrines are flanked by two pillars with foxes heads like this one.
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