CN/ JP/ ID/ MX/ LA
Collection 2
China (CN)/ Japan (JP)/ Indonesia (ID)/ Mexico (MX)/ Latin America (LA)
China
China has an ancient pottery and porcelain tradition. This also includes piggy banks. In my collection are specimens from the years 1948-1955 and recent ones from 2006. None of them have a hallmark, the oldest has a label indicating the origin.
Japan
Japan for me is known for its ceramics (such as Imari porcelain), textiles, lacquerware, swords and dolls, the famous tea ceremony, ikebana, martial arts, calligraphy, origami, geisha and games (nowadays such as Nintendo). But do they also have a thing for pigs? And piggy banks? Sure, pigs to start with: Surprisingly, the most popular type of meat in Japan is pork. It finds more sales than beef and chicken combined. This tradition dates back to the days when Japan was a poor and agricultural country. The Samurai named pigs “walking vegetable”. According to history, they owed their legendary strength and stamina to their diet with a large proportion of pork. Of course, Japan also perfected the breeding of pigs. The most acclaimed species is kurobuta. This black pig from Kagoshima is not originally Japanese It is a direct descendant of the Old English black Berkshire breed.
And piggybanks? I know for years that they also make piggy banks and mainly for export. If it “says” "Foreign" under it, they have been exported as a ready-made product, if it says "import" below, it is a semi-finished product that is to be finished in the country that ordered it.
Where I can often trace the provenance of other piggy banks, I have no clue whatsoever for the Japanese piggy banks. They are both kitschy (in not Japanese eyes!), beautiful and most of the piggy banks are made of porcelain!
Indonesia
Trowulan (Java) is surrounded by an archaeological site of the capital city of the Majapahit Empire from the 14th to the 15th century. Excavations have found evidence of dense population during the 14th to 15th centuries. Terracotta figurines, amongst them piggy banks, were produced in large quantities. The Majapahit piggy banks (not for children!) were used to put coins in as offering to the gods. These very thin bronze Chinese coins were found during excavations in large numbers. I have serious doubt about the age of my 5 Majapahit piggy banks: I think they are copies.
Pigs (pig piggy banks) in Indonesia? You have to explain that. The Majapahit was a Hindu-Buddhist empire from c. 1293 to c. 1530, with the centre on East Java, in what is now Indonesia. From the 13th century, Islam very slowly spread across Indonesia. It is believed that with the end of the Majapahit Empire and with the final destruction of the capital in 1527, the production of terracotta was stopped. After all, the sultanates were now ruled by Islamic rulers, and as a result of the Islamic 'image hostility' there was no longer a need for terracotta figures, let alone piggy banks. Much was broken in those days, no wonder that most of the terracotta statues and piggy banks that we can still see are often broken. But much has also been buried in places where rice or tobacco was later grown. And there was found again in the 20th century. What remains of the Majapahit culture has been recognized as heritage and is now on display in and near the Trowulan Museum.
Mexico
The
majority of piggy banks from Mexico stand out because of their bracket and
light weight. They may have been made of clay with volcanic ash. Before the
great earthquake of 1985, you could regularly buy Mexican piggy banks in the Charity
Shops. Not anymore after that.
No one
knows exactly: Why is there a bracket on many Mexican piggy banks? A remnant of
ancient cultures? Could easily be in Mexico. For there were many, such as:
- Olmec: between about 1200 and 400 BC. They are known for their colossal stone heads and influence on later cultures. The Olmec culture provided a basis for other pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica, such as the Zapotecs, Mayans and Aztecs.
- The Zapotecs (between 600 BC and 750 AD) are among the original population of Mexico. In about 750 AD. B.C. the culture disappeared. The suspicion is that the empire came to a violent end, either by invasion or, and this is considered more likely, by a revolt of the population against the ruling power.
- Maya: between about 250 and 950 AD. B.C. and were known for their advanced writing, astronomy and impressive cities such as Tikal and Chichén Itzá.
- Toltecs: between about 900 and 1150 and their capital Tula was famous for its impressive architecture and warrior statues.
- Aztecs: between about 1345 and 1521. They had a complex social system and impressive military power.
The Spanish
conquest of the Aztec Empire took place between 1519 and 1521. With their
conquests, the Spanish managed to almost completely eradicate the culture of
the Aztecs and probably also of previous cultures. And yet, as it often turns
out, there remain rudiments of those cultures that are passed on from
generation to generation. Not directly in the folk pottery itself, but can be
indicated by the decorations applied to it, such as painting and brackets.
Via Marktplaats (Dutch auction site ), a beautiful and large (31 cm high) piggy bank came from the stock of Kringloop Deuroe Veuroe in Nieuwleusen (between Zwolle and Dalfsen). Terracotta folk art no doubt (?) made in MEXICO.
The bracket on Mexican piggy banks has both practical and symbolic meanings. The bracket makes it easier to carry the piggy bank or hang it for decoration. The semi-circular shape of the bracket can symbolise different things depending on the region and cultural context. It can symbolise protection because it encircles the torso of the pig, which is often associated with wealth and prosperity. In some interpretations, the circular shape can represent continuity or the cycle of life.
Latin America
An overview of what is in my collection coming from Latin America: piggy banks from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru.
