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Rat catcher: O.67-1991

An image of Netsuke

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Rat catcher

Maker(s)

Masakazu

Entities

Categories

Description

Netsuke: katabori: Rat catcher. Ivory, finely carved and stained. Figure of an angry rat catcher half-nude crouching over a grain-measure holding a large club in his right hand and looking at the rat escaping over his left shoulder. The rat with finely incised details and black eyes, the man with a shaven head and his hair scraped into a bun; his tongue and eyes are tinted red. Himotoshi through the back of the grain-measure.

Notes

History note: H.S. Reitlinger (d.1950); the Reitlinger Trust, Maidenhead, from which transferred in 1991.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by H.S. Reitlinger, 1950; transferred from the Reitlinger Trust, 1991.

Measurements and weight

Height: 2.6 cm
Width: 3.7 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1950) by Reitlinger, Henry Scipio

Dating

Edo Period (1615-1868)
19th Century
Circa 1800 - 1868

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of red pigment

Materials used in production

Ivory

Techniques used in production

Carving : Ivory, finely carved, incised and stained
Staining

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: O.67-1991
Primary reference Number: 22353
Old object number: JAPWA/718
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 29 April 2024 Last processed: Tuesday 29 July 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Rat catcher" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/22353 Accessed: 2025-12-07 09:26:36

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/22353 |title=Rat catcher |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-07 09:26:36|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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