Painted Ceramic Female Figure, Japan
A painted ceramic ningyō from the Shōwa period or earlier, depicting a woman in a red-ground kimono at her toilette, holding a comb in both hands in a calm, composed pose. It is formed of clay fired as biscuit, with the robe patterns and facial features painted in mineral-colored glazes; the colors are bright and saturated, and the woman's expression is reserved yet lively, showing the gentle grace of traditional Japanese womanhood. Figures of this kind were often used as ornaments, festival objects (such as variants of hina dolls) or scholars' desk curios, and also carry cultural, artistic and folk symbolic meaning.