Refined Pair, Shunga-ningyo ("Spring Picture"... Lot n° 50

7" (18 cm.) Extremely rare erotic ningyo pair of separately carved figures fashioned out of wood and covered in gofun with painted features, including kneeling male figure wearing loincloth partially covering well-carved genitalia, and female wearing silk crepe skirt, the pair positioned in a sexual embrace with ecstatic expression on their faces, feet arched, resting atop silk pillow. Old repairs, minor soiling of gofun. Edo Period, 19th century. Exhibited Mingei International Museum (2005). Published in Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll, p. 275. "Shunga" or "spring pictures" was a well-developed art form within the world of Japanese woodblock print and painting. Shunga-ningyo, however, are much more rare and, typically, much more crude or rudimental. These figures are surprisingly refined for the genre and could have been lifted directly from a woodblock print image with natural positioning and expressiveness in body language and facial expression. Please call (US) 410-224-3655, visit theriaults com or email info@theriaults com if you have specific inquiries about this lot.