Bronze okimono sculpture with a deep brown patina, representing a lying puppy, probably of shiba inu breed. This kind of subject is common in traditional Nippon sculptures, this specific piece reminds of archaic bronze sculptures. Nevertheless, the puppy is treated with a great sense of detail, especially to represent the texture of the fur and the jingle hanging from the collar on its neck. Being among the twelve animals of the traditional Chinese zodiac, dogs are attached to a prominent symbolism all over Asia. In Japan the dog is an animal that symbolizes loyalty and fidelity but at the same time it is also a symbol of high fertility because it is known to have a lot of offsprings with few miscarriages. For this reason,it is often associated to pregnant women and the fact of giving birth in general. The most popular sanctuary among Japanese expecting mother is the Suitengu水天宮temple located in Tokyo. According to the legend, the head of the city council gave a puppy totheArima有馬family tothank them for the gift of the land on which the sanctuary was to be built. The leader of the Arima clan was so moved by this gesture that he chose to never appear again in public eventsor to its annual parade without its companion (the Arima family was at the top of a feudal fief of the south region). And among the people attending this parade, many of them who saw the dog next to its owner tend to associate it with the erection of the temple and slowly, one year after another it became symbol of the sanctuary. Even today a large amount of expecting mothersvisit the temple, the tradition states that you should visit the sanctuary on the first day of the dog of the fifth month of pregnancy.

Japan –Meiji Era (1868-1912)Height: 7 cm -length: 13 cm –width: 7cm