SHUGETSU SHIZAN: A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF A MAN CUTTING A GIGANTIC GOURDBy Shugetsu, signed Shugetsu 舟月 with seal Shizan 紫山Japan, Edo (Tokyo), 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Intricately carved as a farmer dressed only in a loincloth and wearing a headband, squatting and straining to cut through a gigantic gourd with a large saw. Note the beautifully detailed expression and crisply carved hands and feet. Signed to the side of the gourd SHUGETSU and with seal Shizan, the seal quite brilliantly resembling the natural underside of the gourd. The art name Shizan was inscribed only on the best pieces by the master. Natural himotoshi.HEIGHT 3.3 cmCondition: Very good condition. Minor wear, a tiny chip to the headband in the back.Provenance: From the collection of Gaston Lazard (1878-1956) and his wife Jane Levy (1886-1985) and thence by descent within the same family.Museum comparison:A closely related wood netsuke of a man cutting a gourd is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 81.1.118.