Japanese Antique Bizen-yaki Reclining Daruma | Bodhidharma
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Dimensions: 2-1/2”h x 5-0”w x 1-3/4”d
Daruma, a Zen Buddhist Monk is shown reclined in monastic garb typically seen by the mid-sixth-century founder of the Zen (Ch’an) sect of Buddhism. Daruma dolls are used and cherished as a symbol of good luck and future fortune. This particular piece utilized a casting method by pouring the clay melted muddily into the plaster mold. This can be seen in that the bottom is fully open, (note: Utilized for what is referred to as ornament figures as opposed to the hand method while kneading clay without using a potter's wheel, and typically used for making tea ware.
It has an iron-like hardness, reddish-brown color, and is made of good clay, and desiccated, and burned without using glaze, though there can be traces of molten ash looking like glaze, and markings resulting from wood-burning kiln firing. The surface treatments of the particular piece of Bizen were entirely dependent on the kiln effects (yohen). This figure is made to specifically recall this Patriarch fully robed in an outstretched relaxed pose with his robes draped over his body and his cowl (hood) partially over his head, bare-chested with only the tips of his hands showing. His face has a contemplative look with pierced eyes. The piece is unsigned.
Condition: The figure is in excellent original condition with no visible defects, alteration, or restoration and lacks imperfections or damage. Bizen is referred to as the Wabi-sabi, an aesthetic sometimes described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, or incomplete.
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