A marvelous Japanese ivory cane with a fox and shibayama decoration. The long ivory handle is 11” high and 1” wide at the top. A 1 1/3” fox (kitsune), is depicted emerging from under a lotus leaf. The fox has caught a fish and is preparing for a meal. The fox has tiny black jet eyes, a pointed nose, a wide bushy tail, and is fashioned in the detailed Japanese manner. The long stem of the handle is decorated in the shibayama style with hardstone floral sprays as well as a randomly placed butterfly and a beetle. Some of the inlay material employed is Mother-of-Pearl, jade, tortoiseshell and horn in various colors, with incised and inked stems. (The handle is signed by the maker in Japanese characters.) There is a 1/2” burnished brass collar on a rosewood shaft with a 1 3/8” brass and iron ferrule. The overall length is 35 2/3” and the condition is very good with all of the inlay intact. It was perhaps fashioned in England with an imported handle, ca 1890. It is a superb example of the type. Estimate: $2500-$3500