Posted 4 years ago
kwqd
(1181 items)
This cast iron Japanese okimono of a mouse (or rat) is about 6.2" (16 cm) long x 2.75" (7 cm) high x 3.75" (9.5 cm) wide and weighs in at about 21 ounces (600 grams). It was acquired about 30 years ago and has quite a bit of wear to the finish and the casting is not perfect but there is no real damage and it was priced accordingly. It is not marked and did not come with a tomobako but was part of a large collection of Japanese metal, porcelain and pottery art from a collection being sold.
I wanted an example of a Japanese cast iron mouse or rabbit but did not want to pay the cost of a perfect marked piece with tomobako, etc., and found this critter which will do nicely as an example until, and if, something better comes along. Calling it a mystery since the maker is not known. A lot of this stuff is being copied by the Chinese but the age and the provenance is somewhat reassuring that it is Japanese.
What a terrific cast iron rodent Kevin, he is beautifully formed & your photos of the various angles are excellent. Just in time for the last couple mos of year of the rat '20
Thanks for your comments, Jenni! You are right, a rat is currently more relevant that a rabbit would have been. The artist did a nice job and it is too bad they did not sign it. Guessing there probably once was an associated tomobako but it is long gone if there was.
Thanks for loving rat boy wickencrafts, aura, Jenni, mcheconi and getthatmonkeyoutofme!
Cool piece...love the rodents!
He's AMAZING!! I have a few Japanese cast iron rabbits, but have never seen a Japanese cast iron mouse. Wonderful piece!
Now...that's a cool cast iron piece!
Thanks for your comment dav2no1! Me too!
Thanks for your comment jscott0363! I haven't seen many mouse/rat okinomos. Kind of surprising since one the the Japanese years is the Year of the Rat....
Thanks for your comment Hoot60! From what I have seen it appears to be fairly difficult to make something this small and detailed in cast iron.
Thanks for loving my cast iron rat Vynil33rpm, Hoot60, Manikin, jscott0363, Watchsearcher, dav2no1 and ttomtucker!
Thank you fortapache!
Thanks Ben!
realistic enough to get a second look....very nice
Thanks for your comment RichmondLori! The artist certainly knew what a day looks like!
Thanks for your comment RichmondLori! The artist certainly knew what a rat looks like! (damned auto-correct!)
Thanks for the rat love Anik, six-0-one, AnythingObscure and Lisa!
Thanks for taking a look valentino97!
I think the first photo would be the position for the scare factor, wonderful !~
Thanks for your comment PhilDMorris! I will update the post with the results of the "scare" test.
Thanks Kevin and PhilDMorris!
Thanks for loving the rat Karen and blunderbuss2!
Thank you Thomas!
Thank you Rooster123!
Thanks for taking a look at my iron rat clockerman!
Thanks LOUMANAL!
Thanks for your comments Eileen! Yeah, I get it, not the most personable critters, but this guy has a certain "je nes sais quoi"!
Cute little rat! I've never seen a sculpt done so well and so realistic- his lovely deep brown colour makes it look like he's carved from wood too
Thanks for your comment LaurenRedmond! Probably the work of a very experienced artist. Not sure where the artist was going with the color choice.
Do you have the matching rat with the lucky coin?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/774843263/2379-pair-of-iron-rats-with-ancient?ref=hp_rv-2&pro=1
Thanks for the link Hoot60! An interesting pair of iron rats. Different enough from mine that they were probably not made by the same maker, though. Not sure if this pairing is traditional and I am missing one! I looked at quite a few iron rats when researching mine and did not come across any similar to the pair in the Etsy auction, though.
Thanks for the rat love LovelyPat!
Thanks for checking out my Japanese rat figurine ho2cultcha!
Thank you vcal!
Thanks vynil33rpm!
Thank you Bruce99!
Thank you Falcon61!
Wow, this is a stunning okimono! Really nice find. It's really cast iron? It looks almost bronze.
By the way, I'm told that the Japanese language doesn't distinguish between 'rat' and 'mouse' (they're both called 'nezumi'), which means that you can use either to represent the zodiacal animal. Nice to know if (like me) you were born in that year ;)
Thanks for your comments, rhineisfine! I am pretty sure that it is bronze colored cast iron. The next time that I am at my other house, I will stick a magnet on it to make sure.
I am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H299dMuZ8M
Thanks inky!
Thanks SEAN68 and BHIFOS!
Thank you, Faith.k!