‘The Goan Imposter’, netsuke of a Goanese trader by Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008)

Signed with initials, carved in 1996

H. 6.5 cm
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Carved in Roebuck antler, the hat in Molokai Taxis deer antler and the eyes in drawn crystal rod. Birch used this darker-than-usual bony core of the antler coronet to denote the dark skin of a trader from Goa, posing as a Portuguese merchant.
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Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist’s wife

Literature: The Art & Life of Michael Birch, Janet K.L. Birch, Arbon Lambert 2013, p.79