Delightful Small-scale Kokin-bina (Imperial Couple) for the Hina Matsuri, Edo Period

Live Auction

8" (20 cm.) and 9". Each of the small-scale Kokin-bina Imperial Couple for the Hina Matsuri Girl's Day Display has head and hands of wood covered in a fine gofun with painted details including blackened teeth and okymayu skybrows. The o-bina male is wearing a formal sokutai black ho outer robe, elaborately embroidered waist cloth and lacquered paper kanmuri court cap with tall ei tail, and is holding a shaku scepter in his right hand; she (me-bina) is wearing an elaborate series of robes in the kokin style with densely embroidered sleeves bearing a flying crane design, kakeobi with elaborately knotted tassels, painted fan, and metal crown. Edo Period, 19th century. Lovely attention to detail despite small size, Kokin-bina were developed by the Edo-based doll artisan Hara Shugetsu I in the late 18th century. "Ko-kin," sometimes translated as "old-new," was a hybrid style that preserved the formality of the o-bina's (imperial lord) garment, while letting the me-bina (imperial lady) step out with oversized sleeves, elaborate embroidery, fantastical crowns that satisfied the consumer market for luxurious beauty, even if it did not accord with formal court attire. The immense success of the kokin-bina style led them to dominate the market for generations.