Ivory netsuke of a Kitsune, Dancing fox

Height: 7.4 cm
Provenance:
Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1966

In the traditional Japanese mythology the kistune are a very common subject: long-lived creatures with great intelligence, they are able to develop supernatural powers such as the ability to change appearance and deceiving people by assume human form.
At fifty years old, the kitsune gains the ability to turn into a woman or to possess the body of human beings (kitsunetsuki)
At the age of a thousand years, it becomes white or gold, increases his powers and ascends to the sky turning into a good luck god.

Netsuke for sale. Price on application. Please include item stock number: net-1052