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Brian Bowden | profile | all galleries >> Glass ORBits - Contemporary Art Glass Marbles and Other Art Glass For Sale! >> John Kobuki Marbles and Pendants For Sale >> "Tengu Warrior" Size: 1.51" Price: SOLD tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

"Tengu Warrior" Size: 1.51" Price: SOLD


The rarest of the rare amongst Kobuki marbles, just in from John! Out of all the styles that John makes on a regular or somewhat regular basis (basically excluding the one of a kind pieces), the Tengu is the rarest - he just does not make many, typically only a couple per year, if that. There are probably only about a dozen in existence that I know of. Then, out of the Tengu, the Tengu Warrior (those wielding the opal Katana) is the rarest of those - and I think at this point there have only been 2 or 3 of these created. They are the most sought after marble Kobuki makes, and here is your chance to own one (and yes, I am having a ROUGH time letting go of this one)! That opal sword is just SO killer, the way the Tengu grips it, the way it sparkles in the sun as the Tengu prepares for battle. Awesome, AWESOME marble, one of the ages!

Here's what you need to know about the Japanese Tengu. From Wikipedia: "Tengu (literally, "heavenly dogs") are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known (monster-spirits) and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami (revered spirits or gods). Although they take their name from a dog-like Chinese demon (Tiangou), the tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is practically the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination."

Here is what John posted about the Tengu: "Tengu are mountain and forest goblins with both Shinto and Buddhist attributes. Their supernatural powers include shape-shifting into human or animal forms, the ability to speak to humans without moving their mouth, the magic of moving instantly from place to place without using their wings, and the sorcery to appear uninvited in the dreams of the living. The patron of martial arts, the bird-like Tengu is a skilled warrior and mischief maker, especially prone to playing tricks on arrogant and vainglorious Buddhist priests, and to punishing those who willfully misuse knowledge and authority to gain fame or position. In bygone days, they also inflicted their punishments on vain and arrogant samurai warriors. They dislike braggarts, and those who corrupt the Dharma (law)." So, here John has sculpted his version of the Tengu, a tribute to his Japanese heritage and the culture of Japan.

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