Shino ware (“shino yaki”) is a type of Japanese pottery most identifiable for its thick milky-white glazes, red scorch marks and the texture of small holes. Originally developed in the late 16th century and produced in kilns in the Seto and Mino areas of Gifu Prefecture, Shino yaki was Japan’s first high-fired white-glazed pottery. The glaze, composed primarily of ground local feldspar and ash, produced a satiny white color. Mino ceramic te-aburi in rabbit form are found in important private and museum collections of Japanese folk ceramics, including the Morse collection in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and in the Jeffrey Montgomery Collection, widely considered to be the most important trove of Japanese folk art outside of Japan.

A te-aburi is a personal-size hand warmer, smaller than a conventional hibachi. The lower part of the warmer was filled with ash on which a few small, glowing pieces of charcoal were placed, thus heating the surrounding pottery walls. During the Meiji period, in homes where such luxuries could be afforded, custom demanded that whenever a visitor arrived in winter, the first act of hospitality would be to set a small personal warmer next to the guest to provide comfort in an otherwise unheated reception room. Te-aburi were made to be used by one of two persons at most. Even when unheated, this particular brazier projects a feeling of warmth because the maker created it in the form of a plump rabbit.

The rabbit or hare (“usagi”) is one of the twelve zodiac animals. Prior to modern times, it was fashionable in Japan to display or use some household object depicting the zodiac animal for the current year as a kind of talisman to ward off evil spirits and invite good fortune. When the Japanese look at the full moon, they see the figure of a rabbit rather than the face of the West’s “man in the moon.” According to Chinese Taoist legend, this is a white rabbit pounding out the elixir of immortality with a mortar and pestle.

CONDITION is excellent overall. There are two small gold lacquer repairs, one on each front paw, which only adds to the rabbit’s charm and appeal. DIMENSIONS: 9” (23 cm) diameter, 5” (15.5 cm) high. The wooden box measures 11” (28 cm) square x 7 ¼” (18.5 cm) high.