Iconic Mid-18th Century Large-Scale Kyoto-Bina... Lot n° 52

31" (79 cm.) male overall. 29 1/2" female overall. Kyoho-bina imperial couple from the Hina-matsuri Girl's Day Display, each with well-formed wood head and hands covered in gofun with painted details, silk fiber hair, with blackened teeth and okymayu skybrows indicative of their imperial status, she wearing a fanciful and ornate crown with elaborate tendrils and beadwork, and he wearing a black lacquered eboshi court cap with ei tail, dramatically curved long sword at hip. Overall fine condition, married pair, minor fading and repairs. Edo Period, circa 1750. Exhibited Japan Society (1995), Metropolitan Museum of Art (2002), Mingei International Museum (2005), Published: Ningyo: The Art of the Human Figure, p. 37-38, 48; Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll, p. 100-101. Kyoho-bina were largely made for the newly rich merchant class and were frequently the subject of sumptuary laws restricting their size and the materials used in their construction. Please call (US) 410-224-3655, visit theriaults com or email info@theriaults com if you have specific inquiries about this lot.