A pleasing wood netsuke of a pair of toads. I use the word 'pleasing' because the netsuke is fine with some exemplary touches and the conception is a refreshing reimagining of a subject frequently encountered in netsuke-art. The toads are on top of on a discarded old sandal to which the larger toad grips whilst the smaller toad mounts its back. The modelling is excellent and the skin of the toads is treated with tiny dense pimples in ukibori. Areas of this ukibori are found within creases that would have been extremely challenging to produce, but the anonymous artist has achieved admirable results.
4.6cm
