Passed
Click image to enlarge
Description
7" (18 cm.) The exquisitely executed gosho-ningyo, depicting a scene from the classic Noh drama, Ataka (The Ataka Barrier), are carved of wood and covered overall in a fine white gofun, with overly large heads, narrow set eyes, and bald except for side lock tufts of silk fiber hair, posed standing, wearing rich silk brocade kimonos with overly long sleeves featuring silk drawstrings at cuff, matching obi tie belts featuring red felt sashes with gold metal bosses. Depicted are the warrior monk Benkei wearing the small tokin cap of a yamabushi (Buddhist mountain ascetic) and his nemesis, Togashi, wearing a tall lacquered paper cap of an official. Edo Period, 19th century. Noh theater was an exceptionally rich field for gosho makers to draw upon. So common were Noh themes that gosho-ningyo were frequently referred to as no-ningyo (Noh dolls). The Noh drama Ataka was part of an extensive cycle of dramas centered on the exploits of Benkei and his young charge Yoshitsune, all loosely based on historical events of the 12th century.