Carved Little Wooden Owl Toggle (Natsuke?) very old flask and would guess it dates

and would guess it dates to the 1930s or 40s

the equivalent to "foo dogs" in Chinese culture) repeating around the perimeter of both top and bottom halves of the box

While featuring a central horizontal band that continues around the entire perimeter of the vessel

as all I found were As

images of animals

Carved Little Wooden Owl Toggle (Natsuke?) very old flask and would guess it datesSuch a sweet and curious little owl! The little branch on which it stands is hollow inside, which makes me think it might be a Japanese Natsuke (an ornamental togglelike piece used to attach a box, pipe, or pouch to the obi sash of a kimono), which, though most commonly carved of ivory, are also found carved of wood. It certainly seems it was created to serve a toggle like function, but now, if balanced right, it will stand up in its own. It feels as