Vintage Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Saeko | Serene Young Girl” by Ryoichi, Funayama

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Offered is a contemporary interpretation of a young girl wearing Japan’s most iconic garment, the Kimono. Women of higher social status would keep the majority of their skin hidden under several layers of a complex Kimono ensemble called junihitoe.

Seen is a young girl shying away from overt displays of the emotion of humbleness, exhibited by the tilted head and small face, (kogao) representing a sign of feminine beauty, (bijin). Her head has delicate line work indicating her hair with a ‘Mage’, (hair is twisted and wrapped in a circular coil around itself for the purpose of decoration). Her Kimono has variegated colors of orange, and is very contemporary in its form with a long split collar. Her beautifully-formed neck is delicately incorporated into the overall body form. A three-dimensional Obi defines the sections of the Kimono, which is further ornamented with using pyrogravure, which seen here is controlled embellishment of the surface with burn marks. This treatment though does not overshadow the natural wood grain that is celebrated. We have seen this in numerous Kokeshi by Ryoichi-san, and appears to be a trademark. There is a black impressed mark of the artist on the bottom of the doll.

Condition:  Excellent, pristine original condition, archival quality because of the uniqueness of the doll.