Posted 4 years ago
Bobdirt
(46 items)
Pick this up about four years ago at Arkansas flea market for $3.00, Don't know nothing about it, anyone seen one like it. No name on bottom its hollow looks porcelain, I've llooked on internet have no ideal what to look for Help thanks Bob. Its 7 inches tall 6 3/4 wide. On the back of his jacket it looks like a Chinese coin.
I can tell you what the man is doing - he's painting a wooden fish, also called a mokugyo (the Japanese word for it) or Chinese temple block. It's a percussion instrument used to keep rhythm during group chanting in Buddhist temples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_fish
I believe what you have here is a Japanese - rather than Chinese! - Hakata urasaki doll. This is a type of unglazed (or lightly glazed) ceramic figurine made in Japan. These very naturalistic "dolls" usually show people engaged in traditional activities, craftwork in particular.
In support of this theory, your painter is wearing what looks like a kaku obi, a Japanese men's obi that ties in a small knot in the back, as well as a headcloth that is in a very Japanese style. Admittedly the square-pierced coins (as seen on his robe) are known in China, but they were also found in "olden times" in Japan, so the design could be another indication that the figure is man of tradition. And the mokugyo he's painting is something you certainly find in Japanese temples, as well as by some Buddhist practitioners at home.
In fact I just did a search on 'hakata urasaki painter' and found a couple of figurines just like yours.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Oriental-antique-clay-pottery-painter-figurine-Hakata-Urasaki-old-man-/154105280138
(IMO an unrealistic price for a hakata figurine in this condition)
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0eE3qaXbeCYJ:https://www.etsy.com/market/hataki_urasaki
(see photo, third from left - the listing is now gone but the cached picture is still there, as is the original asking price of $24.99)
Anyway, I think your figurine has considerable charm. You might Google 'hakata doll' or 'hakata urasaki doll' to see more examples of this genre. They depict a Japan of days gone by and have a sweetness to them that is very endearing. Definitely a very nice find for $3 :)
yes, Japanese Hakata.