A GLAZED 'KUTANI' PORCELAIN SCULPTURE OF THE INARI FOX
Japan, probably Meiji period


The animal with its head turned to the right, between its jaws a writing scroll, the base with an approximately square section adorned on one side with a heart in relief, the lower side with a gilt bronze profile of European manufacture, impressed mark 九 谷 (Kutani).

15,2 cm high

Provenance: Italian private collection.

The white fox is the messenger of Inari, an important deity of the Shinto pantheon in charge of the protection of agriculture and fertility. Statuettes like this were placed on the altars present in the numerous sanctuaries dedicated to this deity.
The presence of a metal cylinder inserted in the center of the base of this sculpture suggests that it was part of a more complex object.