Terms and conditions of use
Puppies
(Kushi 狗子)
(c. 1930)
Medium
bronze
Measurements
(a) 15.0 × 10.5 × 18.0 cm (large puppy)
(b) 9.4 × 12.2 × 16.8 cm (small puppy)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Allan Myers AO and Maria Myers AO, 2015
Gallery location
Mid 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
These bronze sculptures display the long and skilled tradition of Japanese bronzeware manufacture portraying playful ideas of ‘cute’. Dogs and rabbits are animals of the Japanese and Chinese zodiac calendar, and thus became popular themes in Japanese art during the Edo period (1600–1868). The simplicity and sophistication of Japanese Art Deco design during the modernist era is illustrated here by the puppies’ solid rounded forms, contrasted with their innocent, delicately rendered expressions. The rabbit’s realistic appearance is imbued with a nervous tension, suggesting it is poised for sudden movement.