Vintage Japanese Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Tsubaki ko | Camellia Girl”” by Yamanaka, Sanpei
Dimension: 5-1/4”h
The technical aspect of a doll made of one piece of wood is successfully evident by the beautiful forming of the figure. The motif, is, of course, the Camellia, (Tsubaki), and the faces and red noses carry the feeling of impishness. The doll has a large ‘Mage’ style hair treatment with carved lines on both sides of the hair to give it depth. A stamp is on the bottom which identifies the artist as Sanpei.
NOTE: For more information on this artist go to our Browse & Learn section, https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-woodworker-yamanaka-sanpei-1926 affording you details about this artist. Also published in the latest book entitled: Sosaku Kokeshi: Celebrating the Major Artists of the Creative Movement.
Condition: Excellent condition for the piece is perfect, with no chipping, missing elements or loss of artwork/color which is beautifully defined. It retains a beautiful finish, with its original craftsmanship preserved. Museum-quality: meeting the standards of the collector of Sanpei’s kokeshi.
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Artisan | Woodworker: Yamanaka, Sanpei | 1926-
Origin:
Born in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, Yamanaka-san began his artistic career as a photographer, after majoring in chemistry. However, rather than develop a career in Traditional Yamagata doll making, Yamanaka-san used his art background to join the Sosaku Kokeshi movement. A multiple award winner, he won the Ministry of Education Award at the all Nippon Modern Kokeshi Exhibition in 1979.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
Yamanaka-san creates wonderfully painted and decorated dolls in many forms and shapes. He may utilize a palette of soft watercolor rings in the Rokuro-moyo manner, to create a suggestion of a rainbow, because in Buddhism, the rainbow is “the highest state achievable before attaining Nirvana, where individual desire and consciousness are sublimated”. On numerous occasions, Yamanaka adds painted flowers to add to the overall dimension of the garment that it is representing. This is not to say that he does not enjoy the natural qualities of wood. Controlled carving adds textures that are neat, random, and sometimes repetitive, and provides decoration to his dolls. The carving contrasts nicely with the natural grain of the wood. Dolls portray wonderful traditional hairstyles through the use of “chattering’ and controlled carving. His head and facial designs are most expressive, particularly with figures of children.
Artist's Signature:
