Toad Sitting on a Sandal

Description As was characteristic for this period, the sculptor has striven for the maximum verisimilitude in rendering this toad seated on a straw sandal, carefully depicting the warty surface of its skin. He alternated between a black stain for the toad and a light brown tint for the sandal.

Exhibitions

• Netsuke: Miniature Sculpture of Japan. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1978.
• The Fabergé Menagerie. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Portland Art Museum, Portland. 2003-2004.

Provenance William T. Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] Masakatsu

Credit Acquired by William T. Walters