Posted 12 years ago
japanfanbev
(4 items)
The first pic. is what my kokeshi collection looked like a couple of years ago...
The top row has a samurai, an Ainu man, a madonna & child, a princess, a mother & son (my first ever purchase & the reason I fell in love with kokeshi) and an unconventional babysitter carrying a baby in a pouch.
In the middle is a Hina (girl's day) emperor & empress pair with a couple of snow children on the left & a more conventional babysitter on the right. On the bottom row is an ogre (I think he's an "oni") and the mum & dad of my nesting kokeshi, followed by a mini boy/girl pair with the baby nesters in front of them. The seven lucky gods are in front of the circular stand.
The second pic. shows my "practical kokeshi"; 2 mailer dolls (both containing letters), a salt & pepper pair and a money bank.
The third pic. has purchases from the last couple of years (most of them from 1950s still...); a pair of paint pots with brush heads, "dolls of the world" (Russian? soldier, cowboy & cowgirl and below them a Greek? lady), second row starts with a Tengu then a pair of Kabuki Theatre Lion Dancers with angry faces. There's a mini Ejiko (baby in a basket) on the bottom row. In the front are a Grandpa & Grandma pair with hand painted waterfall & crane, a "kissing kokeshi" triplet (magnets in heads so that girl attracts one guy & repels the other - interesting to note that therefore also the 2 guys "kiss" too!) and finally an Elizabethan-styled kokeshi in a ruff (the ruff rotates).
I'll put pics of my 1960s kokeshi and non-nodders in another post.
Wow these are really great. So interesting. So diverse. Mine are soly finds and enjoyment. You obviously know a whole more! Love the round shelves too
Thanks Amber,
I remember being taken to a flea market in Japan about 9 1/2 years ago and finding my first few kokeshi - I've had the bug for collecting them ever since. Needed to specialise a bit, otherwise it might've got out of hand, so I decided I liked the detailed hand painting and varied styles of nodders from 1950s-ish... Am trying to limit what I buy to a couple of purchases per year, just adding genres that I haven't already got represented.
Hope you made some good flea market sales at the weekend!
Bev
PS. The round wooden stand/shelves were bought in Japan (from a shop selling Asian Arts) they had miniature teapots etc on display on theirs. I believe they are Chinese.
I was looking for a second one - have seen a couple for sale on uk eBay, but those imported from China have feedback that the packaging is so bad that they're in a terrible state when they arrive.
Hi Bev, It's Nancy. I found you....lol I sent you an email. Love your collection!!!
Thanks Nancy. Glad you looked me up! Have just added a pair of bookends to the collection. Trying not to add anything more until I get my own place!