Indonesia, East Java, Majapahit Dynasty, ca. 15th century CE. Perhaps one of the earliest piggy banks, a corpulent pig - in actuality a Javanese boar or celeng (a petite black-skinned, swayed back relative of the European wild boar), handbuilt from red clay, standing on its four evenly spaced hooves, with a large, hollow belly (that still contains coins), a marvelous face that is full of personality with wonderful incised and applied details, and a curly tail. Indeed the first true piggy banks - clay banks in the form of adorable swine with a slot in the top for depositing/saving coins were created in Java in the 14th century. A rare example and this one contains dozens of ancient Chinese bronze coins. Size: 6.25" L x 4.375" W x 4.625" H (15.9 cm x 11.1 cm x 11.7 cm)

Archaeologists have discovered several boar-shaped piggy banks at the large archaeological site surrounding Trowulan, a village in the Indonesian province of East Java and the possible site of the capital of the ancient Majapahit Empire. Scholars believe that these are probably the source of the Javanese-Indonesian word which refers to savings or money containers. One can find similar examples at the National Museum of Jalan Merdeka as well as the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession number 1990.179).

Provenance: private T.F. New York City collection

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#121741

Expected surface wear commensurate with age. One tiny hole beneath the tail, probably a firing hole. If you want the treasure within, you will just have to 'break the bank'!