A group of 22 various netsuke

Edo period (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th to early 20th century

Edo period (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th to early 20th century
Comprising: two of professional sneezers, one seated with his right hand raised and holding a tickler, the head stretching to the front with the eyes closed and mouth open wide, the other smaller piece signed Gyokumin on an ivory tablet, 3.9cm (1½in); the larger example signed Gyokkei with a kao, 5cm (2in); the third a recumbent piebald puppy, unsigned, 3.5cm (1 3/8in) wide; the fourth a piebald cat clambering over an upturned bucket, signed Norimasa, 4.2cm (1 9/16in) wide; the fifth a recumbent ox, unsigned, 6cm (2 3/8in) wide; the sixth a cicada crawling over two hozuki (Chinese lantern fruits), unsigned, 5.1cm (2in) wide; the seventh an oni lying asleep with a straw parasol strapped on his back, signed Hoichi, 5.1cm (2in) long; the eighth a plaque converted into a brooch of a rakan seated at a table with a hossu (fly whisk) and surrounded by eight oni, unsigned, 4.7cm x 6.5cm (1¾in x 2½in); the ninth an okimono of a monkey with one arm outstretched, unsigned, 4cm (1½in) ; the tenth a monkey trainer, the monkey on his shoulder, unsigned, 5.2cm (2in) high; the eleventh Hotei carrying a karako (Chinese boy) on his back, signed Mitsumasa, 5.7cm (2¼in) high; the twelfth a cluster of seven Kyogen masks, signed Gyokuunsai, 3.7cm x 3.7cm (1 3/8in x 1 3/8in); the thirteenth Fukurokuju patting the back of a Chinese boy at his feet, signed Mitsumasa, 4.2cm (1 5/8in) high; the fourteenth and fifteenth, two identical miniature masks of Daikoku, both signed Koichi, 3.2cm (1¼in); the sixteenth Gama sennin with two frogs, signed Shunzan, 5.4cm (2 1/8in) high; the seventeenth Kanzan holding a long scroll, signed Tomochika, 4.6cm (1¾in) high; the eighteenth Hotei seated on a fan, hiding a mask behind his back and gesturing Bekkanko, signed Minkoku, 3.8cm (1½in) wide; the nineteenth a man pounding mochi (rice cakes), signed Masayuki, 4.6cm (1¾in) high; the twentieth Ashinaga and Tenaga playing kubihiki, Tenaga sitting on a high stool and pulling the rope around their necks, signed Minkoku, 4.7cm (1 7/8in) high; the twenty-first a walrus tusk okimono of two foreigners, 4.3cm (1 5/8in) high; the twenty-second an itinerant performer, wearing a mask and holding a gohei (Shinto paper sceptre), unsigned, 4.5cm (1¾in) high. (22).