Vintage Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Kantsubaki | Camellia Girl” by Takamizawa, Kazuo
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Dimensions: 8-1/2”h
Takamizawa-san is one of the Kokeshi artist referred to as a Kokeshi-kojin, a craftsperson who creates dolls from beginning to end, for which Kokeshi collectors are drawn to the aesthetic beauty and simplicity of form by these spirit-infused, lathe-turned dolls. As with this series of dolls he celebrates two elements that Takamizawa-san loved: the celebration of natural wood and the Winter Camellia. The figure retains the wonderful character and patterning of the Enju wood, all of which is kept as a natural decorative element. The hairstyle is a classic black hair treatment with a (Mage), as a separate piece and complements the long bangs and ‘Bob’ treatment framing the red nose face. The entire figure details are executed with a woodburning technique which is the free-hand art of decorating with burn marks to give a visual and textural quality to the surface. These earlier Kokeshi has no red stamp on the bottom because Takamizawa-san did not start to affix his personal stamp on the doll until he started selling them at the ryokans/spas.
Condition: Excellent with no imperfections or color loss. Museum quality piece and a perfect doll for the collector of Takamizawa’s work in the Sosaku Kokeshi folk art genre.
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Artisan | Woodworker: Takamizawa, Kazuo | 1927
Biographical History:
Takamizawa-san began making Sosaku Kokeshi in 1948 having lived in Takasaki City, in Gunma Prefecture, and opened his studio considered the center of modern Creative Kokeshi doll making. There is no further information on Kazuo but as historians and collectors we felt it was most important to represent all Sosaku Kokeshi artists, whether or not the artist has a written account of his or her life. Each shows the diversity of this cultural specialization and the creative work produced by this artist. Since 1971, his dolls have received numerous awards including the Prime Minister’s Prize when a doll named Akane, (included in the images of his works) was recognized for his accomplishment. In 1983, Kazoo was elected a representative of the Gunma Kokeshi Artistic Hall of Fame.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
His early 1950-60 dolls were left undecorated except for minimal wood burning and incising of camellia blossoms on Enju wood, (Pagoda tree) which he dearly loved because of the wood graining giving dimension to his dolls as well as a rich, deep color. He began creating more colorful, brightly decorated dolls in the 1970’s. As with most of his dolls, the hair adds further detail through the lathe-turned form, carved and stained. Additionally, on several dolls that were short and tall, he added a classic black hair treatment with a ‘bob’, (Mage), as a separate piece. His designs can be delicately rendered in black pigment or thickly painted white blossoms floating on the body, adding a beautiful seasonal effect to the body.