A good luck charm brings £41,000
It was catalogued simply as “a carved and signed ivory netsuke modeled as a dragon” and estimated at just £200-300, but this 11/2in (4.5cm) netsuke shot to £41,000 (plus 15 per cent premium) at Paul Beighton of Thurcroft, near Rotherham on February 26. Why? The reason was twofold.
The signature, characteristically engraved in an oval cartouche, was that of Masanao of Kyoto, the r…