The netsuke is a toggle. Japanese men used netsuke to suspend various pouches and containers from their sashes by a silk cord. Netsuke had to be small and not too heavy, yet bulky enough to do the job. They needed to be compact with no sharp protruding edges, yet also strong and hardwearing. Above all, they had to have the means for attaching a cord. Netsuke were made in a variety of forms, the most widely appreciated being the katabori (shape carving), a three-dimensional carving, such as this one in the form of quails on millet.

From the 18th century onwards, netsuke were increasingly signed with the carver’s name. This example is signed ‘Okatori’, a carver who was active in Kyoto during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Okatori was the younger brother of Okatomo, a pupil of Izumiya Tomotada, one of the three great netsuke carvers active during the late 18th century who established Kyoto as one of the main centres of netsuke production. Okatomo is widely associated with netsuke of bird subjects, especially quail and millet. It is not surprising that his younger brother produced this carving of a similar subject.