Marble horse figurine with gentle, round eyes that will make you feel warm and fuzzy.

From my father-in-law's collection.

There are thin, scratch-like lines on the left flank, and small marks on the right flank.
After many years, perhaps even marble cannot remain completely unscathed under various circumstances? The part from the eyes forward is a clear, milky white. While brushing away dust from its mane with a fine brush, I found myself saying, Nice to meet you, and You're going to your new owner now.

It's certainly different from handling teacups or furoshiki.
I found myself talking to it as I stroked it, wondering what thoughts it had held over the long years.

This marble horse, loved by my father-in-law, now has a role in our home: it's a doorstop (sadly). When we open the door between our apartment entrance and the balcony, depending on the wind direction, a straight gust from the balcony slams the inner door shut with such force that it sounds like it might shatter the glass.

For a while, I was physically holding the door to prevent this. Because it's shaped like a familiar creature, I couldn't help but see it as a personified horse with gentle eyes, doing its best! I would stroke it and move it back to its proper position from where it had slipped, but it felt cruel to use this gentle-eyed horse as a doorstop. Now, it's holding its ground as a bookend. As we are also getting older, we would like to entrust it to someone who will cherish it anew, so we are trying to view it from a distance. We hope it finds a master who will love it dearly.