Vintage Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Nokutān | Nocturne” by Shouzan, Shido (1932-1995)
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Dimensions: 20-0” h
This is an extraordinarily rare, extremely tall, and elegant Sosaku Kokeshi, in which Shouzan as do many woodworkers, follows the “mottainai” philosophy of not wasting beautiful wood when one can prolong its usefulness. Here he combined two types of wood, Keyaki, (Zelkova) and Azedarach, (a Sendan berry tree found in Honshu, Kyushu, and Okinawa). As with many of his creations, the design emphasizes the beautiful qualities of the wood graining and color and is finished with Rōsoku no rō, a type of natural candle wax.
The only element that is painted is the black hair and exaggerated ‘Mage’, which was common in everyday hair dress of this era. An interesting element is the oval, egg-shaped head looking as if she is nodding, and as if she is maintaining her position about other members of the community. To finish her face, he added a horizontal slanted eye and a tiny hole in her mouth. As in real life, the layering of clothing shows the undergarment at the neck of the doll, and the Kimono is separated by the placement of the wide Obi that has an extremely large bow tied and is on the back of the doll. This is where he used the Sedan wood to give further emphasis to his creation.
And finally, because of the slenderness and height of the doll, it was placed on a black stand, (dias), that has a dowel that slides into the existing hole that was made during the lathe turning when the doll was formed. This means that there was no damage to the doll itself and can easily be removed. The doll has Shouzan’s sign on the bottom, for his impressed Honko was used instead of what is on other dolls, and appears in a box. As part of this sale is a signed copy of the book.
The piece was published on the cover of the 2022 publication of Sosaku Kokeshi: Celebrating the Major Artists of the Creative Movement. For more information on this artist go to the following link:https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-woodworker-shido-shozan-1932-1995.
Condition: Supurb lathe-turned creation and size, for it, is outstandingly excellent, impressive, and beautiful. No chips, cracks, breaks, missing pieces, or restoration, is very stable and retains its original details and finish. The piece meets all the standards of the vintage collectible Sosaku Kokeshi by Shouzan, Shido, and is a must-have since it is a “one-off”, and to round out one's Kokeshi collection by this artist.
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Artisan | Woodworker: Shido, Shouzan | 1932-1995
Biographical History:
Shouzan began making Sosaku Kokeshi in 1959, soon after he graduated from Chuo University with a law degree. He is considered by Kokeshi collectors and critics alike to be arguably the most influential artist in the world of Sosaku Kokeshi doll-making. Shido-san’s main focus was depicting unadorned Northern girls in the traditional “Mino”, or Snow Coat, but he also produced tall, thin dolls, which were sparsely decorated. His keen sense of design, minimal use of color, and simple elegant shapes set him apart from his peers, making him one of the most collectible artists emerging from the creative period of the ‘60s winning various awards since 1961. He served as a judge of the All Japan Kokeshi Contest from 1970 to 1976. During that time Shozan published a book entitled Kizin Kasho comprising examples of his award-winning Kokeshi. His dolls have been collected and exhibited worldwide and winner of the Prime Minister’s Award, among many other awards.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
Shito-san loved studying the use of combining different types of wood to gain the desired effect and to give dimension to his pieces. He also enjoyed creating slender, tall dolls to support the fact that they resemble the tall, thin trees seen throughout Japan. He incorporated a repetitive textural pattern called ‘Harmonic Chatter work’ to enhance the natural qualities of the wood in many of his works. He particularly enjoyed the textural qualities of ‘Chattering’ on the rain/snow coat, (Minomushi), which is a favorite theme, executed with minimal painted ornamentation, with an emphasis on the natural wood. In general, it is said that Japanese culture is one of modesty and humility. Occasionally saw different types of headdresses, one of which he called a ‘Tsunokakushi’, which is a wide headdress or hood, that covered elaborate hairstyles. We are told that the Japanese people regulate their behavior and response by reading faces and the eyes of others. Here, as well as elsewhere, you will see many examples of different characteristics of the eye's expressions. His most famous doll, which was considered a favorite was called “Mai”, a dancer, which was an elegant and slender doll with a beautifully formed Kimono focusing on traditional hair design (Mage) with an emphasis on a brightly colored “obi” which brings forth the best use of complex geometry to create traditional Japanese clothing elements which were created in 1970.
Shito-san was a prolific artist/woodworker of Kokeshi dolls some of which were whimsical, some focusing on calligraphy citing haiku (poems). We additionally see unusual subjects focused on Zen Buddhism and figures of Daruma, (Bodhidharma) of which most were made in a “roly-poly” type figure seen throughout festivals in Japan.