Wooden netsuke representing a Thatcheria mirabilis shell. Renowned for its beauty, it is also known as the Japanese wonder shell.

It is a gastropod native to the Yellow Sea. Typical of the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku, it is also found off Taiwan, the Philippines and north-west Australia.

Unidentified signature near the himotoshi (holes).

Japan – Edo period (1603-1868)

Height: 2.4 in / 6 cm – diameter: 1.2 in / 3.5 cm