Vintage Japanese Sosaku Kokeshi by Murakami, Ken-Ichi
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Dimensions: 8-1/2”h
The title of this Kokeshi is “Yuki | Snow Maiden” in which Murakiam’san felt it was sometimes best to allow the wood to do the speaking, and to use a simple line- drawing of the face and snow coat as the perfect expressive quality of a doll. Incorporated is minimal Sumi-e’ ink and wash drawing technique that is not simply meant to reproduce the appearance of the facial characteristics including her hair bangs, and additionally to represent the hooded winter snow coat, (Mino) which she is wearing, and capturing its spirit. The piece is made of Beech, (Buna) with a base of Oak (Kashiwa) and has the doll title on the back of its base and the carvers stamp on the bottom.
Condition: Excellent, retains the original craft/workmanship. No discoloration, chipping/cracking, or slight surface wear with a lovely lightly used warmth. The piece meets all the standards of Kokeshi collectible Folk Art.
NOTE: Please visit our section entitled Browse by Artist, (https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-woodworker-murakami-ken-ichi-1929) for more information on this artist.
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Artisan | Woodworker: Murakami, Kenichi | 1929-
Origin:
A multi-award winner, Murakami-san was born in Yamagata City. Though his family were well-known woodcraftsmen, Kenichi studied oil painting in the early 1940s, but began training and creating Sosaku Kokeshi by 1946. He primarily creates dolls with minimal decoration, with an emphasis on a variety of woodworking techniques. He is a multi-prize winning artist including the coveted Prime Minister Award.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
This artist loved to capture the innocence of a young child. Murakami-san prided himself on producing wonderful, textural pieces created by deep carving and horizontal cut lines to suggest and reinforce the subject. His dolls could be painted, like illustrating the yukata, or left unornamented using simple lines to suggest the use of a snow coat, (Mino) during the winter season. Sumi’-e was often employed to capture the spirit of the subject.
Artist's signature:
