$450
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Description
18" (46 cm.) including perch. Keusesaiku-ningyo (thread doll) depicting a majestic tethered falcon for the Boy's Day display, of well-executed papier mache covered in silk fiber hair to simulate feathers, positioned with wings dramatically spread and head turned slightly to the right, silk wrapped wire talons gripping a wood stand with a silk brocade perch and tethered by a silk cord tied to right leg and attached to base, Meiji Era, late 19th century Published in Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo, p. 249. Keuesaiku-ningyo became popular add-ons to both the Girl's Day and Boy's Day display over the course of the 19th century. For the Boy's Day, horses, tigers, and falcons were three of the most popular images. Falconry was a feudal sport and closely associated with the samurai classes. Too, Jimmu Tenno, the legendary first emperor of Japan was said to have been aided by a golden falcon and he is typically shown with a falcon perched atop his staff or bow. Jimmu Tenno's falcon was actually a kin-no-tobi (Golden Hawk) while the birds for the Boy's Day display tend to be gray and white falcons.