#54

Carved Wooden Portrait Doll Depicting the 16th Century Japanese Emperor, Circa 1925
Live Auction

$3,250
sold
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Description
14" (36 cm.) Carved wooden head with ivory-like gofun finish, strongly-modeled features with heavy eyelids, strong nose, full jowls, incised frown lines at sides of closed somber mouth, painted brows, inset glass eyes, painted feathering of hair edging the hair slits which have inserted silk fiber hair arranged in a formal style, padded body which is posed seated in cross-leg style, carved wooden hands (designed to hold objects) and feet (peeking beneath trousers), and wearing a richly-patterned brown silk kimono with ivory silk lining, patterned plum-colored trousers, metal-detailed breast plate, winged Chinese style gilded court cap (koburi), and with sword and metal gumbai fan. Generally excellent, wear to gilding finish on cap wings. Showa era, circa 1925, the figure portrays the 16th century Japanese Emperor Hideyoshi, considered the great unifier of Japan.