Posted 10 years ago
mbrazeau
(1 item)
This piece is 5.5 inces tall and 6.5 inces wide. It was given to us by my wife's grandfather. He was in the military and traveled extensively and collected a lot of items in the 40's and 50's. Not sure about the history of this piece but it is very ornate and the gold paint on this looks to be real.
STUNNING !!!!
beautiful Foo Dog. He will protect you :-)
Komainu playing with a Temari ball.
Komainu is a lion-like creature and usually, it is guarding the entrance of the Shinto Shrines by warding off evil spirits. very often there are two Komainu, one with the mouth open ("a" sound) and the other one with the mouth closed ("um" sound). Together they form "aum", a sacred syllabe in several religions which means the beginning and the end of all things. In the hinduism philosophy it is the original sound, essential from which the universe might have been built.
Kutani porcelains or Kutani-yaki is a porcelain type developped in the Ishikawa region around the 17th century. We can easily identify this type thanks to its essential colors: green, blue, yellow, purple and red.
We can tell the difference between a male or female Komainu. The females have a cub in front of their feet whereas the males have a Temari ball to play with.
Traditionally, the Temari is a children's toy constructed from the remnants of old Kimono.