Early 1800s Japanese Carved Wooden Mitsuore, Triple Jointing and Original Costume

Live Auction

20" (51 cm.) Carved wooden head with fine lustrous gofun finish, pin-attached to hollow torso in a manner which allows a "nodding" action (the distended stomach shape allows the movement of an inner weight that facilitates the nodding action), painted features, narrow eyes, feathered brows, open mouth with tongue, shadowed bald pate, well-defined ears, silk crepe (chirimen) upper arms, carved wooden limbs with pin-jointed articulation at cradle-shaped hips, knees and ankles, concave openings at back legs to allow realistic posing possibilities, large feet designed for self-standing, curled fingers, sexed, wearing red under-kimono jacket with fawn-spotted silk crepe sleeves, and a richly-colored yuzen-dyed silk crepe kimono with peony design. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Japan, Edo period, circa 1800, the development of the articulated mitsuore signaled a radical change in how the Japanese doll was perceived, this doll designed to be handled and dress, that is, considered a "play" doll rather than ceremonial. Value Points: very rare early doll, now more than 200 years old, and in a remarkable state of preservation; the doll appears in Ningyo, The Art of the Japanese Doll by Alan Scott Pate, pp 70-71. Included is the original wooden box with signature.