ATOMIC HOUND 1958

$220.00

【 The Concept 】

A long-bodied dog reduced to a few clean curves and covered in a deep, glassy caramel glaze. There is no attempt at a breed or at anatomy — the muzzle is a smooth wedge, the ear a single soft flap laid against the head, the legs a pair of blocks split by a central groove, the tail a small hook lifted over the back. The whole silhouette is one continuous streamlined sweep, low and level, the kind of shape a mid-century designer drew when "modern" still meant aerodynamic.

The one flourish is on the shoulder: a fine incised starburst — radiating lines, a fan of small dots, and a sweep of concentric arcs — drawn in dark glaze against the amber. It is a tiny piece of Atomic-Age ornament, the same motif that ran across the clocks, textiles, and dishware of the 1950s and '60s, here shrunk onto the flank of a small ceramic dog.

【 The Function 】

A purely decorative figurine — a shelf, sill, or desk ornament with no ritual or utilitarian job beyond being good company. Small and low at fourteen centimetres long, it sits comfortably among books or on a narrow ledge.

【 The Texture 】

High-gloss and glassy. The amber glaze (飴釉 / ame-yū) pools dark in every recess — the fold of the ear, the line of the collar, the leg grooves, the incised starburst — and thins to a bright, warm gold across the raised planes of the back and head, so a single colour reads as a whole range of light and shadow. The underside is left as bare white body where the piece stood in the kiln.

【 Presence 】

Quiet, low, and cheerful. It has the calm horizontal stance of a dog standing still and the warmth of a much-handled object; the glossy glaze catches the light and the little starburst rewards a closer look. A piece of mid-century optimism at palm size.

Provenance Note: Sourced from a private collection in Japan — from a previous owner who shared their home with several dogs of their own.

【 The Concept 】

A long-bodied dog reduced to a few clean curves and covered in a deep, glassy caramel glaze. There is no attempt at a breed or at anatomy — the muzzle is a smooth wedge, the ear a single soft flap laid against the head, the legs a pair of blocks split by a central groove, the tail a small hook lifted over the back. The whole silhouette is one continuous streamlined sweep, low and level, the kind of shape a mid-century designer drew when "modern" still meant aerodynamic.

The one flourish is on the shoulder: a fine incised starburst — radiating lines, a fan of small dots, and a sweep of concentric arcs — drawn in dark glaze against the amber. It is a tiny piece of Atomic-Age ornament, the same motif that ran across the clocks, textiles, and dishware of the 1950s and '60s, here shrunk onto the flank of a small ceramic dog.

【 The Function 】

A purely decorative figurine — a shelf, sill, or desk ornament with no ritual or utilitarian job beyond being good company. Small and low at fourteen centimetres long, it sits comfortably among books or on a narrow ledge.

【 The Texture 】

High-gloss and glassy. The amber glaze (飴釉 / ame-yū) pools dark in every recess — the fold of the ear, the line of the collar, the leg grooves, the incised starburst — and thins to a bright, warm gold across the raised planes of the back and head, so a single colour reads as a whole range of light and shadow. The underside is left as bare white body where the piece stood in the kiln.

【 Presence 】

Quiet, low, and cheerful. It has the calm horizontal stance of a dog standing still and the warmth of a much-handled object; the glossy glaze catches the light and the little starburst rewards a closer look. A piece of mid-century optimism at palm size.

Provenance Note: Sourced from a private collection in Japan — from a previous owner who shared their home with several dogs of their own.

【Context】

Identity: A glazed ceramic figurine of a dog, modelled in a highly abstracted, streamlined mid-century-modern style, with an incised "starburst" motif on the shoulder and inset dot eyes.

Origin: Japanese — an amber-glazed (飴釉 / ame-yū) ceramic in the mid-century idiom, of the kind made in quantity for the export market and finished in the Western "Atomic-Age" taste.

Technique: Slip-cast earthenware under a glossy iron (amber) glaze fired in oxidation, with a fine incised and dark-glazed surface pattern; unglazed base.

Material: Glazed ceramic, amber (ame) glaze over a white body.

Motif: The dog — the eleventh animal of the zodiac, an emblem of loyalty and guardianship. The shoulder's starburst is an Atomic-Age design motif (radiating rays and dots), the visual language of 1950s–60s optimism about science and the space race.

Construction: A single hollow ceramic form, standing on four integral legs.

【 Dimensions (Approx.) 】

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Length: 14.5 cm (5.7 in)
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Height: 9.5 cm (3.7 in)
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Width: 4 cm (1.6 in)
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Weight: 0.140 kg (0.31 lb)
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