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Meiji Hina Ningyo Imperial Couple, Yusoku-Bina
browse these categories for related items... All Items: Antiques:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese:Dolls: Pre 1900: item # 154704 Please refer to our stock # 4-002 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book $995 |
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This wonderful pair of Japanese Girl’s Day Festival (“Hina Matsuri”) Emperor and Empress dolls are seated on brocade-edged tatami display stands and date to the mid to late 19th century. The emperor is clad in purple silk brocade with a long sword tucked into his waist. The empress is dressed in elaborate multi-layered robes of colorful red silk. Her lapels are embroidered with gold wrapped threads in a scrolling design, and her long sleeves are more intricately embroidered in a floral motif with undulating golden scrolls. The thick rear layers of her costume are draped with a floral painted gauze train. She wears a small brass crown, and her hair is extremely long, flowing over the back of her gown. Their expressive faces are finely carved of wood which has been covered in several layers of gofun (crushed oyster shell), with delicately painted hairlines, eyelashes and eyebrows. Their mouths are open, showing tongues and blackened teeth, and they have inset glass eyes beneath sculpted and blushed eyelids. Both figures have two black dots on their foreheads, a form of make-up adopted by members of the court. There are signatures on the wood stems of their removable heads. Their long slender fingers are finished in gofun. Yusoku-bina took as their premise that the hina figures should be attired in "correct" court dress. Relying on the yusoku manuals for court etiquette and dress, a new and more subdued form of hina doll emerged in the 18th century, one that adhered closely to the tastes and aesthetics of the elite of that time period. The long braid of the empress is typical of this genre, as is this simpler headpiece and puffed hair around her face. (See “Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll” by Alan Pate for similar imperial pairs.) Hina Matsuri is a March 3rd festival that honors girls with an elaborate display of dolls of the imperial court set up in their homes on a stepped display stand covered with red fabric. The topmost step of the display holds the emperor and empress. Hina dolls were considered works of art to be admired and appreciated and were never played with. After the holiday display, they were wrapped up and stored for the rest of the year, which has kept them in excellent condition. These dolls have only some slight crazing on the facial gofun, which is consistent with their age. Dimensions: Emperor: 8” high, 8” wide, 5 ½” deep. Empress: 7” high, 9 ½” wide, 7” deep. Tatami display stands: 11” x 6 ¾” x 1 ½” high. |
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