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Hello, Netsuke experts in the forum!
Can anyone help me identify my little fisherman? Is it made of ivory or bone? Is he really from Japan or a China remake? How old is it and can the signature be deciphered?
Thank you very much for your help, best regards from Germany

It's difficult to determine if this is ivory or resin from your pictures.
Ivory typically shows shregger lines but i see nothing on your example.
The holes you will note show no sign of wear and more importantly they appear to be of similar size. In genuine older netsuke they are distinctively different sizes.
It's my opinion based purely on the limited images that your netsuke is highly probable to be a Chinese copy made during the 1970's.
Regards,
Mark@imperial
Adams Asian Art

Hi Mark,
this is the result I was afraid of. I had actually expected this expertise, but wanted to be sure that (in the event that the netsuke was genuine) I would not offer it for sale below cost.
Too bad, but not a pity.
Thank you very much for your quick, attentive and friendly response to my amateurish question.

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