Vintage silk Kimekomi doll – boy with kite

Handmade of Nishijin ori brocade woven silk, a high quality silk made in Kyoto. See the images for all the beautiful details. The doll is attached to the original black foot stand, it dates from around the 1970s and is in good vintage condition.

Boys’ festival (Tango no Sekku) dates back from the Heian period (794-1185) is yearly celebrated on May 5th, as opposed to the Girls’ festival Hina Matsuri in March. Tango no Sekku is associated with carp streamers and warrior dolls and boy dolls, like this one. Since 1948 it became a national Holiday, on which parents celebrate health and happiness of all children, it was renamed to Childrens’ day (Kodomo no Hi).

The body of a Kimekomi doll is made of ‘toso‘, a paulownia wood sawdust mixed with wheat starch paste, after which it is artfully covered with various silk woven fabrics. The head is made of bisque clay covered with a top layer of ‘gofun‘ (white seashell pigment). The hands of this doll are made of polyethylene. Read more about this special Kimekomi technique on my About page.

Material: silk fabric, toso, gofun
Height: 23 cm
Width: 22 cm
Productcode: KD-040

SOLD

Vintage
Look at the pictures carefully to assess the condition of these vintage items. Read more about the making of Kimekomi dolls on my About page.