A Japanese mei boxwood okimono of a rat catcher. Meiji period.

From the private collection of Eskil Artberg (1886-1974), thence by descent within the family.
Owner and cofounder of Japanska Magasinet, an antique shop in Stockholm founded 1909 by Eskil and his brother John Artberg (1878–1933). The brothers were active in trading Japanese and Chinese works of Art and also contributing by lending objects to the early exhibitions of both Japanese and Chinese Works of Art, such as for example the one in 1911 at Konstakademin, Stockholm. The shop first focused on Japanese Works of Art and Japanese papers that they sold to the Swedish Artists of the early 20th century, then after the war when the interest of Japanese Art cooled of, Eskil came to focus more on Chinese Works of Art. Both the Etnographic Museum in Stockholm and Östasiatiska Museet in Stockholm hold items in their collections that has been purchased from Japanska Magasinet.