SHUGETSU: A WOOD NETSUKE OF A FROG ON A LOTUS LEAFBy Shugetsu, signed Shugetsu 秋月 and kakihanJapan, Echigo, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Well carved as a frog emerging from the furled folds of a lotus leaf, the stem of which forms the himotoshi, its legs and round eyes finely detailed, the mouth neatly incised, the wood of an attractive grain and color darkly stained, the underside of the leaf incised with the signature SHUGETSU.LENGTH 4.2 cmCondition: Good condition, minor wear, few small chips and tiny nibbles to edges, light surface scratches.The present netsuke is a rare work by Shugetsu listed in Davey, Neil K. (1974) Netsuke: A comprehensive study based on the M.T. Hindson Collection, p. 527, no. 32553, where the author notes that the artist came from Echigo and carved large models of toads. The first character means ‘Autumn’, which is rather uniquely abbreviated here, and the second character means ‘the moon’. Thus, the characters combine to form the art name ‘The Autumn Moon’. This artist should not be confused with the Edo school Shugetsu.