Okame standing in blue over-kimono with a sweet and cheerful facial expression. Her garment falls open a little, showing a red colored underkimono or liner, indicating her profession. Cradled in her arms is a large matsudake mushroom. The shape of the mushroom has a close resemblance to a penis and the sculpture definitely has an erotic meaning.
Roof tile clay modeled in a mold, fired in a low heat kiln, painted in vibrant cold-applied colors and with gold sprinkle.
Japan, 1970s or earlier.
H 5 in.
Colors somewhat smudged, especially the blue. Some black smudges in the white face, affecting her left eye. Because of the cold application, the colors are fragile and easily wash away.
Rare subject matter in kawara ningyo.
Clay dolls were made all over Japan. The models and colors vary per region. They were made with the same clay as roof tiles and were originally sold in the Edo period as toys. Today they are sold as souvenirs and charms and the variety in subject matter has enormously diminished. Erotic subject matter is extremely rare and probably sold at fertility temples and shrines and during fertility festivals. Even rarer is that a fertility kawara ningyo made it outside the country. This piece comes from a collection of kawara ningyo, bought on a trip in Japan in roughly the 1970s.
