Rare Mid-1800s Japanese Paper Mache Mitsuore with Articulation, Fine Early Costume

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17" (43 cm.) Paper mache swivel head with slightly-tinted gofun complexion, bald scalp with shadowed hair and cut slits at side and back for inset silk fiber locks, glass inset eyes, painted features, pierced nostrils, closed mouth in smiling expression, two upper teeth, impressed dimples at lip corners and cheeks, philtrum, paper mache torso and limbs with sling-jointing at hips, and further jointing at knees, ankles and wrists, textile upper arms, and wearing silk bib with unusual ruffled collar edged with black velvet, and a padded plaid silk kimono with cotton obi. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: late Edo period, circa 1850. The mitsuore doll was revolutionary in Japanese culture when first introduced in the late 1700s, with its intricate articulation ("mitsuore" meaning triple-jointed but in this case actually four-jointed as the wrists swivel, also), and its construction which was designed to allow a child to undress and re-dress the doll, hence "play". The doll is shown in Japanese Dolls by Alan Scott Pate on pages 232 and 243. Value Points: outstanding early model and great state of preservation.