netsuke

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Object Type
Museum number: F.809
Description: Netsuke. Racoon dog dressed as a priest. Made of stag antler. Signed.
Producer name
Cultures/periods
Production date: 1870s
Production place: Made in: Tokyo-to
Materials
Technique
Dimensions: Width: 4 centimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Badger dressed as a priest Signed by Masayuki Stag antler, 1800s (Label copy, 2017); The racoon dog or tanuki appears in various Japanese folklores as one of the most mischievous animals. With its ability to shape shift, the tanuki often transforms itself into human form or inanimate objects in order to play tricks on people. Here a tanuki, wearing a priest's robe, dozes while holding a Buddhist wooden gong (J. mokugyo) under its clothing, with the stick clutched to its breast. When we examine the underside, we recognize a crying face, with two cord holes forming a nose and open mouth. (NT 2015)
Bibliographic references: Barker & Smith 1976 / Netsuke: The Miniature Sculpture of Japan (157); Tsuchiya 2014 / Netsuke: 100 miniature masterpieces from Japan (p.154-155)
Location: On display (G92/dc1)
Exhibition history: 2013 - , BM Japanese Galleries, ‘Japan from Prehistory to the Present’
Subjects: cleric; mammal (racoon dog)
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1897
Department: Asia
Registration number: F.809
Conservation

Free entry