Beautifully carved Kara Shishi with four claws tightly gripping a large ball. The lion head looking upward sideways, its large ears hovered back against two rows of mane, finely carved teeth and fangs. A free-rolling ball inside the carved-through jaws, its tail thrust up in swirling masses with tendrils of fur at the back legs. The hieratic features represent a traditional Chinese guardian lion. Its ball indicates a male Shishi associated with the Wisdom Buddha Monju. In symmetrical composition with aged patina in gorgeous cherry wood red, this classic flat-nosed Shishi netsuke exemplifies the ambiance of netsuke in the early 19th century Edo period.