Lot 13: A boar-tusk netsuke By Jack Coutu (1924-2017), English, carved April/May 2006

A boar-tusk netsuke
By Jack Coutu (1924-2017), English, carved April/May 2006Carved in relief, a squirrel leaping with its forelegs outstretched, reaching for a pinecone as flames begin to consume its lower body, its eye inlaid in horn, the broad end plugged with ebony; signed with a silver tablet JC. 9.5cm (3¾in) long. (2).

Sold together with Jack Coutu's reference card (no.326), on which he states: 'My last boars[sic] tusk and a very thin one. I succeeded in cleaning one surface completely without breaking right through but had to use low relief work for safety. The idea of a woodland in flames is not too clear but gives a little more vitality to the plug end. The eye could have been brighter but looks better in different lights.'