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An Orange Lustre Monkey | European Art Pottery491 of 520 |  |  |
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Posted 2 years ago
vetraio50
(358 items)
I bought this figure of a monkey many years ago. It's identity is still a mystery to me. The orange lustre caught my attention. In those days I was collecting Royal Lancastrian lustre wares. But the mark below was Japanese. He seems to be dressed as a Buddhist priest (?). It reminds me of the work of the Dutch ceramicist Jozef Mendes da Costa. Any input on this piece would be helpful to me.
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A very belated thanks to ozmarty!
Many thanks mustangtony!
Many thanks Amber!
Many thanks ho2cultcha!
THIS IS VERY BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THIS AND HOW DID MISS THIS ?
Many thanks Sean!
beautiful monkey! what's in his hand? is that a dunce cap on his head or a monk's mitre?
Many thanks ho2culture. The paraphenalia are Shinto religious ceremonial stuff I think. The hat is called "tate-eboshi". The robe is "jo-e" or pure cloth.
Shinto ("the way of the gods") is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan's major religion alongside Buddhism. Shinto does not have a founder nor does it have sacred scriptures like the sutras or the bible. "Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami. The kami of extraordinary people are even enshrined at some shrines. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto's most important kami. In the Meiji Period, Shinto was made Japan's state religion and Shinto priests became state officials.
The wand over his or her shoulder is called "haraegushi".
At the entrance of the Hie shrines, dedicated to Sannou, the deity from Mount Hiei (near Kyoto), there are usually two statues of monkey gods (Sarugami), a male and a female, guardians against evil spirits.
Also, Sarugami is the lord of the famous three monkeys that “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".
Monkey worship in Japan peaked in the Edo Era, and has declined significantly since then. Even so, the legacy of monkey faith is easily spotted in modern Japan. One can still find centuries-old stone statues with monkey motifs in many Japanese localities -- statues weathering away, unprotected from the elements, more than 300 years in age.
I now see that this figure is called Masaru.
The Demon Queller!