PietroParis

See e.g. this one... https://collections.lacma.org/node/188358

Could it then be just Kintaro and a bear mimicking the boy and ox of the classic iconography? I noticed that the Japanese depictions of bears are often quite weird...

OK, the overall composition so obviously recalled the “sixth stage” picture that I must admit I did not even bother to look at the details of the beast. And of course I bow to Piers’ superior knowledge...

It’s also a classic netsuke subject: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60459

It’s a bull. It represents the sixth stage of Zen enlightenment. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Bulls

Tatsunao on eBay, but crazy expensive:

The "Expert's estimate" is € 2,800 - € 3,500, and knowing Catawiki the reserve must be upwards of € 2,000...

It does look like junk, but is that really a "Big name auction house"? I was expecting Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams...

What would you expect the price to be for shipping to the EU?

The mei reads 玉山 Gyokuzan. Both carvings appear to be modern and probably not made in Japan. The frog looks more like an ojime than a netsuke. P.S. if you are interested in learning more about netsuke, you might start with this free book from the MET.

Do I understand correctly that NTK papers such as the ones shown in these pictures are not to be trusted, since they are issued by a seller as opposed to an independent panel?

Are those greenish stains evidence of the copper base plating? I see a few of them even on the “iron” area near the rim.

I’m 100% sure that Yas knows what sekigane is, and the one in the picture doesn’t look like an insert.

As I wrote above, I've seen this old book where he is included in the Akao school, but I don't know more than that:

Just seen on Facebook:

Hard to judge from just one picture, but sometimes “bone” is the new name of ivory... As far as I understand, it is still legal to buy, sell and ship pre-1947 ivory artifacts within the EU, but you might need a CITES certificate stating that the item meets the requirements. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/guidance_ivory.pdf

Unless inro, netsuke and ojime are particularly well-made modern fakes, I'd say that the package is well worth its $500-$700 estimate even if the signature is spurious.

I know next to nothing about inro but I particularly like the first one. The netsuke and ojime on the first one also look good to me, while the netsuke of the second is hard to judge from the picture. I also suspect that the price will rise quite above $500.

The registration paper and the bare nakago are in the pictures if you follow the link. Sure, sure, I was just picturing the scene of someone angry at having been duped who starts to tear and burn the paper, only to check himself and decide to sell the blade...

This is a Japanese eBay seller who usually sets up auctions for blades with a $10 starting price. Their typical end prices for Hozon-papered blades are in the ballpark of $1000 for wakizashi and $2000 for katana. However, they are now selling a tanto with Kicho certificate and a whopping $6500 price. To make things more intriguing, the certificate is torn and partially burned... Clearly there must be some funny story behind it, can anyone guess what that would be? Is it at least a famous signature? https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Authentic-Japanese-KATANA-SWORD-TANTO-SUKESADA-signed-w-NBTHK-KICHO-PAPER/254795872322

For your convenience:

I suppose you are referring to this one: https://jisho.org/search/龍 %23kanji

Right, 之 reads also "kore", and the third is indeed 美 . I'm still trying to learn...

The fourth looks like 之 (yuki/shi)