Signed And Boxed

Here’s a rare 19th century treasure find from a collector we visited in Kyoto….a very unusual pair of antique ningyo doll sculptures from Japan.

This is a wonderful pair of and crafted, hand painted pair of Ningyo dolls – one male and one female and both are remarkably accompanied by their original signed kiri wood collector box tomobako with old label.

This was sourced from a large Japanese collection this past year,

The box is signed likely by the maker or former owner.

Dimensions: each doll is 6 inches high

The heads and hands are hand crafted in ceramic and adorned with period textile clothing

Only one available

History of Ningyo:

Dolls (人形 ningyō?, lit. "human form") are one of the traditional Japanese crafts. There are various types of traditional dolls, some representing children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of the daily life of Japanese cities. Many have a long tradition and are still made today, for household shrines, for formal gift-giving, or for festival celebrations such as Hinamatsuri, the doll festival, or Kodomo no Hi, Children’s Day. Some are manufactured as a local craft, to be purchased by pilgrims as a souvenir of a temple visit or some other trip. (Thank you Wikipedia)