A well carved wood netsuke of standing Hotei

Description:

Japan, signed, 19th cent.
H. 4,2 cm
Hotei, standing and laughing cheerfully with a huge bag of fortune behind him, his girded robe exposing his prominent belly. Boxwood, finely carved and engraved. Sign: hidari and the hiragana character, as 'ri' is read and merely confirms that the first character is indeed read 'hidari', however, this confirmation is only known from sword signatures, with netsuke they seem to be unknown so far.
North German private collection, acquired at Kunsthandel Klefisch, 11.5.2014, lot 33 - Old incomplete collection label, minim. Traces of age