A fine Japanese netsuke of a frog by Matsuda Sukenaga (1800-1871), Takayama, Edo-Meiji period, 19th century
松田 祐長

The very finely carved netsuke made from yew wood in the form on a frog/toad perched on a pumpkin stalk, the skin realistically carved with minutely mapped details all over, the eyes rendered in pigment behind glass with an alert expression, the himotoshi is formed on the underside on the stalk, signed Sukenaga on the underside

(Quantity:1)

Dimensions: 4.8cm wide

Please compare with a similar example from the Harriet Szechenyi collection, sold at Bonhams, London,The Harriet Szechenyi Sale of Japanese Art, 8th November, 2011, lot 212 (£6,875).

This model depicting a frog\toad was popular with several of the netsuke makers from Takayama, which worked in the middle part of the 19th century. For another very similar example by Sukenaga, see Neil K. Davey, Netsuke, p.236, no.729.