Putai or Budai is a Chinese folkloric deity who is known in Japan as Hotei. His name literally means ‘Cloth sack’ a name which comes from the bag that he is usually depicted with. The bag contains endless treasures comparable to a Western horn of plenty. Putai is considered as an incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha, and is always shown smiling which gave him his Chinese nickname ‘the smiling Buddha’. This netsuke was carved by a very old carver in Hong Kong in the 1970’s and it is signed with his name Ji Tian (吉田). The carving looks simple but is in fact very accomplished revealing the great skills of the carver. Height 4.6 cm. Width 4.0 cm. Depth 2.8 cm.