Japanese Maneki Neko Papier Mache Beckoning Cat Hariko Folk Toy 9.5 in

A large Japanese beckoning cat, or maneki neko, built up as a hollow moulded papier mache body over a chalk ground and then painted by hand. The cat sits upright with the left paw raised, a painted collar and bib across the chest carrying a rosette in red, yellow and green, brushed whiskers, and scattered brown spots across the back and haunches. The beckoning cat is one of the oldest continuously produced good luck figures in Japan, made since the Edo period in clay and in lacquered paper. A raised left paw is understood to call in customers, which is why these sat by the register in shops rather than on a household shelf. The papier mache versions, called hariko, are built from paper laid into a mould, dried, cut free and rejoined, then sealed with a white ground before painting, which is why they are so light for their size and why the paint sits on the surface as a thin skin rather than soaking in. Condition is honest and used. There is a patch of surface loss on the upper back where the painted ground has flaked away to a paler layer beneath, marked in one of the photographs with a pointer. A second pointer shows a soft dark area near the crown. Smaller specks and rubs appear across the body, the base edges are scuffed, and the whole figure carries the mellowed tone of age. Nothing is broken and the form is complete. Measured against a rule the cat stands about nine and a half inches tall.