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Description
7" (18 cm.) The well-formed papier mache figure of tiger with a silk fur covering in a technique known as keuesaiku, is depicted seated on his haunches with shoulders hunched and ears pressed back, long tail and fierce, menacing expression, painted eyes, protruding fangs, formed claws tinted blue. Minor wear. Meiji Era, circa 1900. Tigers were not native to Japan and images of tigers were used to evoke the exotic as well as a reference to the famed tiger hunts of the warrior Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) during the Korea invasions of the late 16th century.