Squatting Toad Amulet

Carved black and white stone, perhaps to mimic the natural variation in colour of the amphibian, the animal is depicted raised up on its front legs, watchfully as if about to jump. The somewhat snub-nosed head lacks the more usual streamlined face of a frog, and the black upper surface is lightly speckled with small holes, and eruptions, imitating the rough and warty skin of a toad. The underside details are incised and it is pierced lengthways for attachment.