SHUGETSU: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A TORTOISE

SHUGETSU: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A TORTOISE
By Hara Shugetsu, signed Shugetsu 舟月
Japan, Edo (Tokyo), mid-19
th
century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Naturalistically carved as a tortoise with its limbs almost entirely retracted within its carapace, its shell rendered with impressive layering. Beneath its shell, its legs and head covered in minutely etched scales and its feet with large claws. Its eyes are inlaid with buffalo horn. The cord attachment in the form of an eyelet, inset into the removable scale within the carapace. Signed to the base SHUGETSU.
LENGTH 4.9 cm
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and minuscule nibbling to the edges.