Featured please help with one more item - frog

Dear members of the Antique Forum,

Could you, please, help me to find out more about this little sculpture? It is only about 2.5 x 1 x 0.5 Inches in size and made from heavy metal with brown patina. Copper color shine on parts which were in contact with surface thus less exposed to air.

Details are amazing and little frog is a lifelike and ready to flee.

After researching I think that it is:

Japanese ? (stamp/signature)

Meiji period ? (basing on craftsmanship)

Metal Shakudo (4–10% gold, 96–90% copper) ? (basing on copper like appearance in some parts) although was advertised as bronze

Netsuke ?/ little sculpture (can be suspended on a cord + small size)

Any help will be much appreciated and especially with dating and signature deciphering.

A yellow dust can be seen in crevasses on some photos – I left it there on purpose – just don’t want to wash off the dust of a 20th century

Thank you all for your time and expertise.

 

One more photo

 

He's just adorable!! Maybe bronze?? I'm not that good with metals, but others will be along!!

 

Can't really tell which alloy it is,shakudo usually has a purple black applied patina and looks an eggplant color.

Photos of copper metals and patinas..................https://www.mokume.com/mokume-gane-a-comprehensive-study/metals-for-mokume-gane

 

I just made a very undignified squee type noise. I don’t know anything except that I’m pretty darn sure it’s out of my price range… and that it is a wonderful piece

 

Not a netsuke.

 

Hi Hollyblue,

Thank you very much for a link to a website with metals, alloys and patinas colors. It is an excellent reference guide.

I had a close look on my little bronze vase which I accident scratched inside (someone filled it with a cement and it was a mammoth task to remove it). The patina on it is soft red-brown and an underlying metal is yellow. The little frog’s patina is dark brown and underneath it – pink metal. So maybe it is 4% Copper with Cobalt (if it was colored in ammonia solution).
Does anyone know if Shakudo (3 %) or pure copper can oxidize naturally to dark brown color?

As for the price - this frog did not cost me an arm and a leg (or a kidney) because I bought it from an estate auction.

It would help a lot if someone would be able to translate the mark's characters. I hope that it would be someone who's username starts on "A" and who, I hope,is still a member of an International Netsuke Society

 

u can tag the person if they live here....

 

I am sorry, Komokwa, but could you, please, tell me how I can tag a forum member?

 

You need to use @ then the handle.

 

like this @Asian Fever .....and it shows in a different color...

 

Hi @Any Jewelry
I have learned from old discussions that you might be still a member of an International Netsuke Society
This item is unlikely a netsuke however people from this society might be my best shot to find out more about this frog and its maker.
I will appreciate it very much if you would be able to use your connections and ask them.
Thank you.

 

meiji bronze is what I would think......but it's not a netsuke....that
'I know of...

 

Very charming little frog and bug on lotus leaf. The lotus leaf symbolizes purity, the frog good luck and prosperity.

I don't see any evidence of it being a netsuke (two small cord holes close together), so I consider it an okimono.
A netsuke served as a toggle to carry purses etc because traditional dress didn't have pockets. The purse or inro (small box) was suspended from a cord which passed under the obi or sash waistband and was held in place by the netsuke, which sat on top of the waistband. So there was a direct link between traditional costume and netsuke.
An okimono is a Japanese decorative object, usually small. Okimonos became fashionable in the late 19th century, when there was a decline in the wearing of traditional Japanese dress.
The netsuke makers turned to making small decorative objects, with the same detail as netsuke. Although most okimono are carved ivory, some are other materials, including cast metal.

In this link is a bronze frog on lotus leaf netsuke, you can see the two small cord holes in the side of the leaf, in front in the first photo:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/66825483_japanese-meiji-bronze-frog-on-leaf-netsuke
You can also see that the lotus stalks are also curved like on yours, but they are not used for the cord, it has the specific netsuke cord holes.

Copper can oxidize to a dark colour. The Japanese work with many different alloys, made up of metals in different percentages. If yours is pink underneath, it is likely to have a high copper content.
I suspect it is 'yamagane' or 'mountain metal', which means unrefined copper with natural inclusion of other metals.
Historically, yamagane was used before the Japanese learned to refine metals, pre-1600s. However, there was a revival of the use of yamagane for small objects in the 19th century, which included patination to make items look like old yamagane.
The process of patination is called 'niiro', which translates as 'cooked metal'. This link explains niiro:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niiro

Just to show the type of metal and patination, the site below has examples of 15th-16th yamagane pieces. Needless to say, your frog is not that old, it is a 19th century okimono which seems to be made in 'revival' yamagane.
http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/yamagane.html

 

I am still a member. Occasionally okimono are posted, but I think you would have a better chance of an ID on a forum specialized in Japanese cast metals. Maybe look for 'Japanese bronze forum' or something similar.

Or... maybe our members @Mat or @Ce BCA can read the mark?

 

Hi Any Jewelry,

You are a star! Thank you very much for in depth information about this okimono.

As you have advised I will contact Asian Art Forum https://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=search

and ask for help with a signature / mark.