18th century Japanese Ivory owl carving

Recently inherited this piece from the family estate; was given to my mother as a child from an older relative. There is a signature on the base in (japanese?) characters. Based on similar items, my best guess is that this is carved Japanese ivory, probably 18th/19th century. The eyes and feet are painted yellow, a little carelessly. This may have been done later. The feet are metal/ivory.

The piece is pretty heavy; maybe mammoth?

What do you think it is? Value estimate?