On May 10, Bonhams New Bond Street will offer the second instalment of netsuke assembled by the late American pianist Julius Katchen and his wife Arlette.
The couple first came across netsuke on a concert tour of Japan in 1953, making their first purchase, a late 18th century ivory wild boar with young, in Kyoto. Buying through dealers and at auction, they amassed a vast collection with an emphasis on the Kyoto masters of the late 18th century and early 19th century, and the later works of Kaigyokusai of Osaka.