Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Large and Old Tanuki

In Animals > Show & Tell and Asian > Asian Statues > Show & Tell.
ho2cultcha's items730 of 5040Mystery Pink Granite SphereThe Grasshopper, Amsterdam
11
Love it
0
Like it

rhineisfinerhineisfine loves this.
racer4fourracer4four loves this.
auraaura loves this.
ho2cultchaho2cultcha loves this.
jscott0363jscott0363 loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
kwqdkwqd loves this.
dav2no1dav2no1 loves this.
Vynil33rpmVynil33rpm loves this.
fortapachefortapache loves this.
StraightArrowStraightArrow loves this.
See 9 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 3 years ago

    ho2cultcha
    (5040 items)

    This is a female tanuki [raccoon fox] holding a large mushroom. I don't know what the hole in her back is for, but i saw them on several old ones online. apparently females ones like this are pretty rare. I think it's pretty old - but not sure yet.

    Unsolved Mystery

    Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.

    logo
    Animals
    See all
    Antique Chinese Tibetan gilt bronze buddha horse & crystal ball, Qing Dynasty.
    Antique Chinese Tibetan gilt bronze...
    $257
    Breyer Stablemates Custom Miniature Art Diorama lot
    Breyer Stablemates Custom Miniature...
    $56
    Antique Chinese carved jade & silver butterfly brooch, Qing Dynasty 19th Century
    Antique Chinese carved jade & silve...
    $17
    Large LOS CASTILLO Mexican Hammered Silver on Copper Turquoise PARROT Pitcher NR
    Large LOS CASTILLO Mexican Hammered...
    $91
    logo
    Antique Chinese Tibetan gilt bronze buddha horse & crystal ball, Qing Dynasty.
    Antique Chinese Tibetan gilt bronze...
    $257
    See all

    Comments

    1. rhineisfine rhineisfine, 3 years ago
      Thinking out loud, here, and hopefully getting the discussion rolling...
      First and perhaps most usefully, I remembered seeing a tanuki much like yours - and I managed to locate it on Etsy just now. It's a male counterpart to your female: https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/602586004/very-old-signed-japanese-tanuki-pottery
      The style is so similar that this style may originally have been produced as a matching pair. (Looked at in that way, I suspect think there may be some symbolism in the implements they hold, too.)
      As to the hole in the back... for what it's worth, I have an old bronze tanuki that has a similar hole at the base of its neck. The seller pointed it out at the time and observed that it would originally have had a cover in the form of a sedge hat. Unfortunately, the hat was lost at some point. My bronze tanuki was sold to me as an incense burner, presumably because it's hollow and has that hole; but to be honest I think it is purely an okimono (ornament).
      I'm mentioning this last bit because I'm wondering if the hole in the back of yours might also be missing a "hat" cover. The one on mine is a bit higher, so perhaps it's less likely in your case. The one on Etsy has the same hole in the back, with no cover, so perhaps - as you said - they're just made that way?
    2. ho2cultcha ho2cultcha, 3 years ago
      Thank you Rhine. i found quite a few similar old tenuki's online and they also had this hole in the back w/ no explanation for it. The man who sold it to me thought it might be used as a hand warmer. You'd drop the coals thru the hole and warm your hands on her head. it does feel like it would work well, but no idea really.
    3. rhineisfine rhineisfine, 3 years ago
      Oh, that's a thought! He's talking about teaburi (literally translated as hand-warmer), or possibly hibachi (literally, fire bowl or fire pot).
      Searching on teaburi - in Japanese - gets you some "upright" tanuki not too different from yours: https://tinyurl.com/8p5dp5a8
      Whereas searching on hibachi gives you a number of wide-mouthed bowls with tanuki decoration on the edge: https://tinyurl.com/t76u9tz4
      Incidentally, I did find a mention in English of a tanuki teaburi on this page:
      http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/tanuki.shtml
      I'm starting to think that might be the answer for your tanuki... and possibly mine, too. Thanks for sharing these ideas!
      P.S. I used TinyUrl as a link shortener above because Google image search URLs are just too long to post into a short comment ;)

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.