Carved Little Wooden Owl Toggle (Natsuke?) very old flask thick walled

thick walled

the equivalent to "foo dogs" in Chinese culture) repeating around the perimeter of both top and bottom halves of the box

part of the West Coast Tribe

Ranavalo (former Queen of Madagascar)

While featuring a central horizontal band that continues around the entire perimeter of the vessel

Carved Little Wooden Owl Toggle (Natsuke?) very old flask thick walledSuch a sweet and curious little owl! The little branch on which it stands is hollow inside, which makes me think it might be a Japanese Natsuke (an ornamental togglelike piece used to attach a box, pipe, or pouch to the obi sash of a kimono), which, though most commonly carved of ivory, are also found carved of wood. It certainly seems it was created to serve a toggle like function, but now, if balanced right, it will stand up in its own. It feels as