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AI Appraisal
Description
-
Category
Toys
Medium
Wood
Distinguishing marks
Mark on bottom but no idea what the symbols mean
Condition
Good
Size and dimensions of this item
4" across top, 3" high, 14" circular diameter
Date Period
no idea
Weight
not sure but less than a pound
History
Perhaps an old East Indian/Oriental childs game. My husband had it before we married...not sure where he got it
Price Paid (If known)
don't remember
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By the look of the writing
<p>By the look of the writing on the base of the object, I would say that it is more than likely Japanese in origin. The construction is definitely wooden possibly rosewood as English spice tower cases were made out of Rosewood etc. The horse is quite prominent in Oriental mythology particularly Chinese and Japanese. There is also a possibility that it is Korean as the Korean pictograms (characters) in some respects are very similar to those of the Japanese, and quite a few Japanese artificats take their influence from Korean designs. Korean ceramicists were responsible for many Japanese design styles in Ceramics, so there would be no reason not to suggest that this may in fact be Korean. At least it gives you some place to start. </p><p>I hope this helps</p><p>Dean (MATCAT010)</p><p>Avid Antiques collector</p>
Thanks so much for your
Thanks so much for your response. This particular piece has had us stumped. A Chinese guy we know told us he didn't think it was Japanese or Chinese, so perhaps Korean is the way to go in my search. I appreciate your help!! I'll let you know what I find.
You are very welcome.
<p>You are very welcome. Don't let someone put you off by their opinion unless they are an expert on the subject. Even natives of their own country don't know the origin of lots of antiquities so keep the Japanese and Chinese side of things in mind also. </p><p>Take care and good luck!!! :):)</p><p>Dean</p>
That is a fascinating piece,
<p>That is a fascinating piece, I would say it looks Aisan to me. But the thing that has me scratching my head is the numbers in English. Made for the English / Aisan trade market perhaps? Gotta love solving the mystery :-) If I run across information I will let you know!</p><p>Jackie</p>
Thanks Jacquie...I'm still
<p>Thanks Jacquie...I'm still searching and any help will be very much appreciated :)</p><p>Becky</p>
The number 5 hold tremendous
<p>The number 5 hold tremendous significance in nearly all Bhuddist traditions. It refers to the Five Colours, Five Senses, the Five Wisdoms and Five Bhudda and a host of other important philosophies. However, there a a miriad of associated with the number 5. The number 5 is intimately associated with the Chinese theory of the 5 elements, a concept underpinning the Zodiac calender. It is the Bhuddist Zodiac symbol for people born in the years 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, and 2002. It Bhuddist patron is Seishe Bosatsu who is one of Bhudda's five attendants.</p><p>The colours you have in your game are also represented in Bhuddist mythology and represent the following:</p><p><table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="590"><tbody><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><strong>Color</strong></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/blue.htm"><strong><font color="#0000ff"><u>Blue</u></font></strong></a></div></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/black.htm"><strong><font color="#0000ff"><u>Black</u></font></strong></a></div></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/white.htm"><strong><font color="#0000ff"><u>White</u></font></strong></a></div></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/red.htm"><strong><font color="#0000ff"><u>Red</u></font></strong></a></div></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/green.htm"><strong><font color="#0000ff"><u>Green</u></font></strong></a></div></td><td><div align="center"><a href="http://null/yellow.htm"><strong><u><font color="#0000ff">Yellow</font></u></strong></a></div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>General Meanings </strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">coolness, infinity, ascension, purity, healing </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">primordial darkness, hate </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center"> learning, knowledge, purity, longevity</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center"> life force, preservation, the sacred, blood, fire </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center"> balance, harmony, vigor, youth, action </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center"> rootedness, renunciation, earth </div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Seen In: </strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">turquoise, lapis lazuli </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">black thangkas </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">White Tara, white elephant</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">coral, red thangkas </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Green Tara </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center"> saffron robes of monks </div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Emotion, Action </strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">killing, anger</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">killing, hatred</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">rest and thinking</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">subjugation and summoning</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">exorcism</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">restraining and nourishing</div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Transforms:</strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">anger into mirror-like wisdom</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">hate into compassion </div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">delusion of ignorance into wisdom of reality</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">delusion of attachment into the wisdom of discernment</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">jealousy into the wisdom of accomplishment</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">pride into wisdom of sameness</div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Buddha</strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Akshobhya</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">n/a</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Vairocana</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Amitabha</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Amoghasiddhi</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">Ratna-sambhava</div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Part of <em>Hum</em> <img src="http://null/images/symbols/hum.gif" alt="Hum" width="57" height="30" /></strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">the dot (drop) on the crescent</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">n/a</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">the crescent</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">syllable 'ha'</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">vowel 'u'</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">the head</div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Body Part </strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">ears</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">n/a</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">eyes</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">tongue</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">head</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">nose</div></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Element</strong></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">air</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">air</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">water</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">fire</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">n/a</div></td><td><div class="style3" align="center">earth</div></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Based on this information, I would quite confidently say that it is definitely Oriental and it could be from any of the Asian Countries who practice Bhuddism, most likely Japanese as I said before as they have embraced the teachings of Buddism for thousands of years. The game is probably very similar to the prayer wheels you quite often see in Japanese temples where they are spun and the person spinning asks for their prayers to be answered. As it looks like this is a similar sort of thing, the centre spindle spins the base with the pictures of Horses and the circular pieces may be put on top of this spinning portion and see if they indeed line up once it has finished spinning. This is an idea only based on what I have seen.</p><p>I'll keep on searching for you but this is much more than we had the first time. As I said, I am very confident that it is a game used in a Japanese household with a tangible Bhuddist connection based on the above information</p><p>Cheers</p><p>DEAN</p>
Wow Dean...thanks so much
<p>Wow Dean...thanks so much for taking the time to research this with me. Your new ideas are very much welcomed as I've run into a wall trying to think of new ideas. The "game" is actually supposed to have a little red wooden ball but unfortunately, it got lost somewhere. From what the gentleman we spoke with the other night said, a player would spin the wheel and then whereever the ball fell would tell which player to move where...I believe he played a game that was very similar to ours as a child. Bit of a language barrier so I'm still not real clear on those details. I've written to a couple of museums and am hoping to hear back. Would love to hear about your collection :)</p><p>Thanks again..</p><p>Becky</p>