The hare eyes eve been inlaid with amber gem stones that sparkle like fire which gives the appearance of possible life within the hare. The ears are pulled back. This could be for the hare to appear that it may be listening to some sort of noise in the distance. This object appears to have been produced by hand carving, probably somewhere in Japan. The hare is made of Ivory which would most probably have been from an Asian elephant but could also have been made using ivory from another mammalian species.
The ivory appears to have been either buffed and polished to give it a high glossy finish or has been coated with a varnish for the name effect. The hare appears to have some small varieties in color though mostly being a cream color. It has smaller darker parts with color appearing brownish around the carved details such as the mouth, nose, ears and front right paw. This was likely caused by the object ageing over the years since its production. PART 2 Write a short ‘biography’ of this object, addressing the question of how its function, status and meaning may have changed over time.
Introduction In this short biography I will attempt to discover the journey of the hare enthuse from its production through to its consumption and afterlife. I will research homo has owned this beautiful object and how far it has journeyed around the world in its cycle. Biography This enthuse would have begun its first stage of production as a piece of Ivory. Most likely taken from the tusk of an elephant somewhere in Asia. The ivory would have been cut from the mammal and taken or sold to Mastoid Osaka.
I believe the enthuse to be crafted by Mastoid Osaka in the 19th century as his signature appears on the base of the enthuse (after extensive research I cannot seem to find very specific details of its production). The enthuse appears to be carved by hand most probably using smaller carving tools. After production the enthuse may have been used by others for its primary purpose. This purpose was to hold objects on rope which would then hang from a kimono. This was in place of pockets which the kimono did not have.
The enthuse would stop the belongings of the wearer falling off. This enthuse may have been worn by a rich Japanese man to advertise his social status or wealth as was tradition with highly attractive and expensive enthuse in the 18th and 1 9th century. However the first purchase of this enthuse I can dates back to the asses in Japan, along with 263 other enthuse of different designs. (Wall, 2010) The purchase was made by an antique dealer from Paris, France known as Cliches.
After bringing this enthuse back from Japan to Paris Cliches then sells all 264 enthuse to a man named Charles Prussia. (cook, 2010) Prussia was a member off very well-known and wealthy family of Jewish bankers from the time. It was known that Charles would have the enthuse displayed in a black lacquer vitrify. (Wall, 2010) Charles eventually decided to present this enthuse along with the others to family members Victor and Emmy Prussia whom lived in Vienna, Austria as a wedding gift.
The couple appeared to keep the enthuse hidden from public view in a cabinet located in Memos dressing room, eventually allowing the enthuse to be used as toys for their children to play with. (Wall, 201 0) However during World War 2 in March 1938 the Nazis would enter the Prussia mansion and begin to steal some of the family’s more expensive possessions and destroy other possessions. The Prussia family had no choice but to flee for their lives leaving behind everything they had left. Cortical, 201 0) Unbeknownst to the Prussia family a maid from their home in Austria named Anna was able to hide the enthuse inside of a feather mattress within the house and preserve all of them until the Emily was able to return. (cook, 201 0) Following the end of the war Elisabeth Prussia (daughter of Victor and the late Emmy) would travel back to Austria to be reunited with the Enthuse. The enthuse would remain in the possession of Elisabeth until inherited by another family member, Elisabeth son Ignite Leo Prussia whom lived in Japan at the time of inheritance.
Ignite was extremely fascinated by the enthuse studying the small object for pleasure. (Cortical, 201 0) He shared this interest with his nephew Edmund De Wall. Edmund would first see the enthuse in 1991 but would later inherit all of them including the hare. This particular enthuse features in the title of De Walls book The Hare with the Amber Eyes and tells a story of not only the Prussia family but the life of this enthuse and the 263 that journeyed with it.
This enthuse and the other 263 that were originally purchased with it are still in the possession of Edmund De Wall today. (Wall, 2010) They are displayed in a cabinet in Walla’s home in London, where he still studies them. Conclusion Throughout the biography we have learned more on the journey of the amber eyed hare enthuse. Though there are very little details to be found on he enthuses production, I was able to examine the details of the enthuses consumption and afterlife more closely.
