Early Japanese porcelain models of animals are very rare, and this elephant form koro, below, c.1700, offered for sale as part of the Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer’s premium) Japanese works of art sale on November 22, appears to be unrecorded.
Measuring a massive 15in (38cm) across, the large pachyderm is modelled standing four-square, its trunk curled to the right and a gentle expression on its face. A cover with a double row of apertures for the smoke to escape allows it to function as a censer.