Passed
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Description
17" (43 cm.) man. 18 1/2" woman including crown, 14" w. bases. Each with heads of wood covered in gofun with painted details including blackened teeth and okymayu skybrows, real hair, both mounted on exceptionally unusual tiered dais with lacquered base. Including the o-bina (imperial lord) dressed in a rich blue silk brocade robe with long sword, shaku scepter and kanmuri court cap; and the me-bina (imperial lady) dressed in a coordinated manner with the same rich blue silk brocade serving as her outermost kimono layer, with long silk crepe sleeves with supplemental embroidered designs of ho-o (phoenix) and flowering kiri (paulownia) blossoms, with birodo black velvet collar trimming, kakeobi crossing over shoulders of stiffened silk crepe with black silk cording with decorative knotting, painted wood fan, and elaborate metal and beaded crown with large ho-o detail at top. There is some loss of hair, and minor wear and fading to textiles. Late Edo Period, circa 1850. Part of the beauty and excitement with non-traditional machi-bina is that you never know what creative twist the ningyo artisan will put on a dairi-bina pairing. The extensive use of birodo (black velvet) on both the dolls and the dais is singular and marks this as a high-quality production.